Crypto Exchange Report Q3 2024

In Q3 2024, the crypto market faced significant volatility, largely driven by global macroeconomic factors. A major sell-off occurred in early August, triggered by a combination of events. One key factor was the yen carry trade implosion, caused by Japan’s unexpected interest rate hike. This move spurred a risk-off sentiment across global financial markets, leading to sharp declines in asset prices. Bitcoin, in particular, dropped as low as $49,000 during this period. The sell-off was also exacerbated by large-scale liquidations across the crypto market. Despite these challenges, the market began to recover by the end of the quarter, with Bitcoin rebounding to around $64,000 as investor sentiment improved, partly due to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts and increasing global liquidity.

Amidst such volatile conditions, how did the exchanges perform? Our Exchange Quarterly Report is here just in time. This report summarizes the performance of the exchange industry, with a focus on the top 10 centralized exchanges. Through the analysis of key data trends, we aim to provide insights into the dynamics of the exchange market.

The top 10 exchanges totaled $15.1T in volume, a decrease of 6.74% compared to Q2

In Q3, the Top 10 exchanges totaled $15.1T in volume, a 6.74% decrease compared to Q2. The continued market’s downward trend was largely influenced by global macro factors. However, sentiment shifted positively following the Federal Reserve’s 50 bps interest rate cut. Given the recovering sentiment and improved macro environment, volume in Q4 is expected to rebound, potentially reaching $20 trillion.

In Q3, Bitcoin showed large price volatility. After experiencing a dip below $50,000 in early August, the price quickly recovered, finishing the quarter around $64,000. In Q4, with the improving global liquidity from both the U.S. and China, Bitcoin is likely to rebound above $70k, with a high probability of reaching a new all-time high.

Binance’s market share saw a decline but continued to lead the market

Q3, Binance's volume was nearly $5.6T, with its market share declining by 4.51% compared to Q2. Despite this decrease, Binance maintained its dominant position with a market share exceeding 37%.

Among other exchanges, MEXC saw a significant market share increase of 3.6%, followed by Bybit, which recorded a 1.84% increase compared to Q2.

The share of spot volume decreased for most exchanges. Only Bybit saw an increase

In Q3, most exchanges saw a decrease in their spot volume compared to derivative volume. Bybit was the only exchange that recorded a slight increase in the share of spot volume. Due to prolonged price fluctuations, market attention shifted toward more speculative sectors, particularly meme coins, contributing to the decline in spot trading volumes across exchanges.

Traders increasingly gravitated toward high-frequency derivatives trading, seeking faster returns amid heightened market volatility.

Total spot volume for the top 10 exchanges amounted to $2.7T, a sharp decrease of 21% compared to Q2

In Q3 2024, the spot market continued its decline from Q2, with average daily trading activity dropping from $37 billion in Q2 to $29 billion in Q3. Total spot volume across exchanges was approximately $2.7 trillion in Q3, marking a 21% decrease from the $3.4 trillion recorded in Q2.

However, with improved market sentiment and increased global liquidity, spot volume in Q4 is expected to rebound, potentially reaching the $3.5 to $4 trillion range.

Derivatives trading volume continued its downward trend, with the average daily volume below $150 billion

In Q3, the total derivatives trading volume was $12.8 trillion, a decline of approximately 2.3% from the previous quarter's $13.1 trillion. This downward trend, which began in Q2, reflects the prolonged market consolidation in the crypto sector.

Aside from a brief spike in early August driven by macroeconomic volatility, average daily trading volume remained below $150 billion, consistent with Q2 levels.

Binance ranked first in the market with a 30% open interest share

In Q3, most exchanges saw market share declines in Open Interest. Binance maintained its leading market share with a slight decrease of 0.25%. BingX had the largest decline, falling by 1.27%. HTX recorded the largest gain, up 2.7%, followed by Gate, up 1.3%.

All exchanges saw a sharp drop in open interest in early August due to macro volatility. Binance, however, experienced a smaller decline in open interest compared to others, resulting in a brief spike in its market share during this period.

Most exchange tokens underperformed in Q3, with GT being the only one outperformed Bitcoin

Due to the overall weak market conditions, most exchange tokens performed poorly in Q3, continuing the downward trend that began in Q2.

GT was the standout, gaining 16.5% by the end of Q3, outperforming both Bitcoin and other exchange tokens. BNB, ranked 4th by market capitalization, did not keep pace with Bitcoin’s gain but still rose 4.8%. Additionally, OKB increased by 1.4%, LEO rose by 0.9%, achieving positive growth. In contrast, other tokens underperformed, with MX seeing the largest decline, falling 22.6% compared to the end of Q2.