Futures Surge Drives Crypto Exchange Volume to Nearly $80 Trillion in 2025

In 2025, the global trading volume in cryptocurrency exchanges soared to over $79 trillion, primarily fueled by futures and perpetual contracts. This remarkable increase in derivatives overshadowed the slower growth in spot trading.

Key Takeaways

In 2025, global crypto exchange volume reached over $79 trillion, mainly driven by futures.
Spot trading increased to $18.6 trillion (+9%), while futures soared to $62 trillion (+29%).
Binance was the leading exchange in both spot and derivatives trading.
Variances in market volume reporting exist across different trackers.
Regulatory concerns grow as trading activities concentrate on fewer exchanges.

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Spot Trading Grows While Futures Market Explodes

Spot trading wrapped up the year at about $18.6 trillion, reflecting a year-on-year rise of roughly 9%. However, the real standout was the futures and perpetual contracts, which approached $62 trillion, accounting for nearly 77% of the combined trading volume. This significant focus on derivatives altered the distribution of liquidity and daily transaction rates across exchanges.

Major Exchanges Lead the Charge

Binance emerged as the leading platform in both spot and futures trading. Reports indicate that Binance processed around $25.4 trillion in Bitcoin perpetual futures, which is about 42% of the total Bitcoin perpetual volume from the top 10 exchanges. The platform has also maintained substantial stablecoin reserves compared to its rivals. Other prominent exchanges, such as OKX, Bybit, and Bitget, formed a secondary group for futures trading.

In 2025, crypto exchange activity was notable:

Spot volume totaled $18.6 trillion (+9% YoY).

Perpetual contracts reached $61.7 trillion (+29%).

Binance led in spot trading, Bitcoin perpetuals, liquidity, and reserves.

Overall growth is driven by derivatives, with market influence continuing to concentrate at the top.

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Different data aggregators report varying figures for the derivatives market in 2025. For instance, CoinGlass recorded approximately $85.7 trillion in crypto derivatives volume for the year. Variations in tracking methodologies, the products included, and the venues considered can explain these discrepancies.

Total crypto market cap is currently at $3.1 trillion. Chart: TradingView

Traders utilized futures to establish positions, hedge against risks, and react rapidly to price fluctuations. This activity not only increased daily trading volumes but also contributed to the overall figures. While spot trading involves the direct purchase and selling of assets, futures contracts can represent a significantly larger notional value, amplifying the trade volume.

The concentration of trading activity among a few dominant exchanges has raised concerns among regulators. Warnings have been issued regarding the potential risks associated with reliance on a limited number of platforms, especially in light of possible outages or regulatory actions. The trade data from 2025 highlighted these worries, as a considerable portion of the increased volume was funneled through the largest operators.

According to analysts, the trend of the derivatives market holding dominance may persist unless there is a notable surge in spot market demand or regulatory changes impact trading behaviors. Factors such as institutional interest, introduction of products linked to regulated markets, and modifications to stablecoin regulations could significantly affect trading volumes in the upcoming year. Analysts also caution that overall figures may continue to vary depending on the methodologies and datasets employed.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView