CryptoQuant Annual Report: Derivatives Drive Growth in the Crypto Industry, Market Continues to Concentrate on Top Exchanges
According to the 2025 Annual Review released by data analytics firm CryptoQuant, the global cryptocurrency trading market exhibited a clear trend of derivatives-led growth and concentration on leading platforms over the past year.
Data shows that the total spot trading volume across global cryptocurrency exchanges reached $18.6 trillion in 2025, a 9% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the trading volume in derivatives markets, including perpetual contracts, surged to $61.7 trillion, a significant 29% year-on-year increase. The size of the derivatives market has now far surpassed that of the spot market, becoming the core engine driving overall trading volume growth.
In terms of market structure, the dominance of top players has become increasingly evident. Binance maintained its leading position across multiple key dimensions, including spot trading, Bitcoin perpetual contract trading, market liquidity, and platform asset reserves. This indicates that despite intense competition, users, capital, and trading activities continue to concentrate on the largest platforms.
Overall, the cryptocurrency trading market in 2025 continued its trajectory toward professionalization and financialization.
The explosive growth of the derivatives market reflects the rising demand among investors for leverage and sophisticated risk management tools;
while the concentration of market power among top exchanges also signals that the industry may be entering a new phase characterized by consolidation and regulation.