Data analytics company Arkham Intelligence denies rumors about shutting down its trading platform. CEO Miguel Morel revealed that the platform is being transformed into a fully decentralized exchange (DEX) rather than completely exiting the market. Arkham Exchange was launched in 2024, with a daily trading volume of only $704,225.
The Survival Dilemma of Arkham’s $700K Daily Trading Volume
Arkham announced plans to launch a crypto derivatives exchange in 2024. By 2025, the platform had opened spot trading in multiple U.S. states and released a mobile app in December of the same year. In November 2025, Arkham integrated MoonPay services, allowing users to buy cryptocurrencies with bank cards. However, as of press time, Arkham Exchange’s daily trading volume remains only $704,225.
A daily volume of $640,000 is extremely low among crypto exchanges. In comparison, the largest compliant U.S. crypto exchanges typically have daily volumes in the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars. Even mid-sized exchanges usually see daily volumes in the hundreds of millions to billions. Arkham’s $640K may only be comparable to a small DEX or a nascent exchange.
This bleak trading volume puts Arkham Exchange in a serious survival crisis. Revenue for exchanges mainly comes from trading fees. At a 0.1% fee rate, $704,225 in daily volume yields only $640 in daily revenue, or about $19,200 per month. This is far from enough to cover server costs, staff salaries, marketing expenses, and other operational costs. Even small crypto exchanges can have monthly operating costs reaching hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Under such circumstances, Arkham Exchange might be losing tens of thousands of dollars each month.
Previously, some media reports suggested that due to liquidity shortages, the company planned to gradually cease operations. Morel clarified that this is merely a change in business model, not a complete market exit. While this clarification avoids the negative label of “closure,” it essentially admits that the centralized exchange model has failed. Transitioning to a DEX is a reluctant choice, as continuing to operate a centralized exchange would only result in ongoing losses.
Arkham Exchange’s Bleak Data
Daily Trading Volume: $704,225 (about $640K), extremely low
ARKM Token Price: $0.113, close to the all-time low of $0.1045
This Week’s Drop: 15%, continuing to hit new lows
Founded: Launched in 2024, only about 2 years before transitioning
The native token ARKM is trading at around $0.113, near its historical low of $0.1045. This week, the token has depreciated by 15%. The sharp decline in token price reflects extreme market pessimism about Arkham Exchange’s prospects. Investors are voting with their feet, selling off ARKM heavily, pushing it close to its all-time lows. This price performance makes it difficult for Arkham to raise funds through new token issuance to support its transition.
Arkham CEO Criticizes CEX as Worse Than Traditional Finance
“These centralized giants have become bloated and sluggish, slow to respond to user needs. They’ve become worse versions of the traditional financial institutions they promised to improve,” said the company’s leader. This harsh critique of centralized exchanges partly reflects Morel’s genuine views, and partly serves to justify the shift to a DEX.
Morel believes that decentralized trading offers advantages such as faster speeds, lower costs, and self-custody of assets. This narrative is popular among crypto purists. DEX’s decentralized nature allows users to maintain full control over their assets, avoiding losses from exchange failures (like FTX) or hacks (like Mt. Gox). Additionally, DEXs typically do not require KYC, protecting user privacy. In terms of costs, DEXs can eliminate many operational expenses associated with centralized exchanges (customer support, compliance, office costs), potentially offering lower fees.
However, this idealized vision of DEXs differs from reality. The most successful DEXs (like Uniswap, dYdX, Hyperliquid) still lag far behind top-tier CEXs in user experience. Challenges include higher slippage due to dispersed liquidity, fluctuating gas fees (which can be very high on Ethereum), inability to fiat on/off-ramp directly (requiring users to buy crypto on CEXs first), and lack of customer support (smart contract errors cannot be reversed).
Three Major Challenges for Arkham’s Transition to DEX
Liquidity: CEXs have only $640K in volume—how will a DEX attract market makers?
User Migration: Will existing users be willing to adapt to the more complex DEX operations?
Intense Competition: Established players like Uniswap and Hyperliquid have built strong moats
Explosive Growth Trend in the DEX Market
This move aligns with broader industry trends. According to CoinGecko, the ratio of DEX to CEX trading volume hit new highs in 2025, more than doubling since 2020. Perpetual decentralized exchanges, in particular, experienced explosive growth. In 2025, the volume of perpetual DEXs nearly tripled—from $4.1 trillion at the start of the year to $12 trillion. This surge reflects a sharp increase in on-chain derivatives activity, with perpetual DEXs absorbing more leveraged crypto trading.
“Decentralized trading, especially perpetual contracts, is thriving because it returns to the core exciting essence of cryptocurrencies,” Morel said, adding, “It’s cheaper, faster, and allows users to control their assets. We’re excited to return to the forefront of finance and provide users with the best trading experience.”
Founded in 2020, Arkham Intelligence specializes in de-anonymizing blockchain data. Its investors include OpenAI’s Sam Altman, venture firm Draper Associates, and Binance Labs. This prestigious investor lineup has helped Arkham establish a strong brand in on-chain analysis. However, its exchange business has evidently failed to replicate this success, likely because on-chain analysis and exchange operations are entirely different businesses requiring different expertise and resources.
As early as December 2025, Arkham Intelligence implemented on-chain activity tracking for the anonymous cryptocurrency ZEC. If this technical capability can be applied to optimize DEX user experience or enhance security monitoring, it could become a differentiator for Arkham DEX. For example, providing real-time on-chain data analysis, alerting suspicious transactions, or helping users trace fund flows—features that traditional DEXs lack.
For Arkham, transitioning to a DEX is a last-ditch effort. If successful, it could open new opportunities; if it fails, the company might exit the exchange market entirely and focus on its more successful on-chain analysis business. For investors, the ARKM token is currently near its all-time lows, representing a high-risk, high-reward gamble. If the DEX transition succeeds, the token could skyrocket; if it fails, it may continue to decline or even become worthless.
