Crypto Exchanges Report Q2 2025

In Q2 2025, following a deep correction in Q1, the cryptocurrency market began to show signs of recovery, primarily driven by inflows from ETF products and a strong rally in Bitcoin. On the policy front, expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut and improving U.S. employment data contributed to a partial recovery in market sentiment. However, geopolitical tensions and sluggish global economic growth continued to limit a broader rebound. By the end of Q2 2025, the total crypto market capitalization had rebounded to approximately $3.46 trillion, marking a quarter-on-quarter increase of around 28.2%.

In such volatile market conditions, how did exchanges perform? We are pleased to present the Q2 2025 Exchange Report, delivering timely insights into the industry’s performance. This report summarizes key data trends, aiming to help readers understand the evolving dynamics of the exchange market through comprehensive data analysis.

Crypto Exchange Total Trading Volume

In Q2 2025, total trading volume across the top 10 crypto exchanges reached $21.6 trillion, down 6.16% from Q1. Although Bitcoin rebounded, broader market participation remained weak, with capital concentrated in a few large-cap assets. Ongoing macro uncertainty, slow regulatory progress, and cautious investor sentiment continued to weigh on activity, marking the second straight quarter of declining volume.

Bitcoin rose from $83,000 to a peak of $111,900, ending the quarter near $106,000. However, most other assets saw limited recovery, and many altcoins experienced sharp drops in liquidity and trading activity. Without fresh policy support or strong inflows, market volumes may stay subdued in the near term.

Crypto Exchange Market Share

In Q2 2025, Binance held a trading volume share of 35.39%, marking a slight decline from Q1 2025. Nevertheless, it remained the only exchange consistently capturing more than one-third of the market share.

Five exchanges saw market share growth this quarter: OKX, Bitget, HTX, Gate and KuCoin. Gate led the gains with a 2.55% increase, followed by OKX with 1.08% quarter-on-quarter growth.

Spot/Derivative Volume Shares

In Q2 2025, the spot trading volume as a proportion of total trading volume continued to decline across most exchanges. MEXC saw the largest increase in spot share, rising by 2.70%, followed by Bitget.

Traders maintained their Q1 preference for high-frequency derivatives trading amid market uncertainty, aiming to hedge risks and leverage volatility. This trend also underscored a sharper downturn in the spot market, as liquidity and trading activity in many altcoins dropped significantly, in contrast to the relative resilience of derivatives markets

Spot Trading

In Q2 2025, the spot market continued to decline compared to Q1 2025, with the average daily trading volume dropping from $51 billion in Q1 to $40 billion in Q2. The total spot trading volume across major exchanges was approximately $3.63 trillion, down 21.7% from $4.6 trillion in Q1.

However, due to ongoing economic uncertainty and low liquidity and trading activity in the altcoin spot market, spot trading volume in Q3 2025 is expected to remain subdued, fluctuating between $3.0 trillion and $3.5 trillion.

Derivatives Trading

In Q2 2025, total derivatives trading volume reached $20.2 trillion, down 3.6% from $20.9 trillion in Q1, reflecting the continued impact of market correction.

Although market sentiment was briefly lifted in early April by the Federal Reserve’s decision to pause rate hikes, concerns over global economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions continued to dominate investor behavior. Average daily trading volume declined to $226 billion in Q2, down from $233 billion in Q1, indicating a further weakening of risk appetite.

Open Interest Market Share

In Q2 2025, Binance maintained its leading position in the open interest market with an average market share of 23.83%, up 0.36% from 23.47% in Q1. HTX, Bitget, and OKX recorded the largest gains in market share, increasing by 1.19%, 0.71%, and 0.63%, respectively.

Exchange Tokens

Following a period of divergence in Q1, exchange tokens continued to show mixed performance in Q2 2025, with all major tokens significantly underperforming Bitcoin’s 31.62% gain. Among them, BNB recorded the highest gain of 8.91% (Note: BNB is the native token of BNB Chain and is also used across various activities on the Binance platform; it is not a narrow-sense exchange token). OKB, BGB, and KCS saw modest increases, while most other major exchange tokens experienced declines.

On one hand, BTC rallied strongly on the back of inflows from spot ETFs and greater regulatory clarity in the U.S., but exchange tokens failed to benefit from the same momentum. On the other hand, exchange tokens remain closely tied to the altcoin market, where trading activity and liquidity declined notably during the quarter—further weakening support for platform tokens. Looking ahead, the performance of exchange tokens is expected to remain divergent in Q3 2025.