The ongoing crypto run has reduced total trading activity by almost half since the October 2025 crash.
According to CryptoQuant, total crypto trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEXs) fell 48% to $4.3 trillion by March 2026.
Notably, the October crash marked the local peak of activity at around $8.2 trillion, with CryptoQuant noting that the downtrend was a “marked market cooldown” after the 2024 cycle peak.
It is at its lowest level since October 2024, indicating a clear cooling of market participation from the peak of the previous cycle.
Interestingly, perpetual trading has dominated CEX trading. Perpetuals (commonly called perps) allow traders to trade with leverage to increase potential profits without an expiration date, such as with options contracts.
As of March, perpetrators were responsible for $3.5 trillion in CEX trading activity. In contrast, Spot activity generated just $0.8 trillion, implying that perpetrators were more than four times Spot volumes.
Meanwhile, offender volumes have also seen an increase sharp decline for the past five consecutive months. However, this was not surprising as speculative interest has waned during the crypto winter.
Binance stock is down 5%, but still leading
From a platform perspective, Binance has maintained its lead in the industry despite increasing competition.
CryptoQuant noted that Binance led the market in cumulative Spot trading volumes with a 32% market share.
Binance’s total Spot trading volume to date in 2026 is almost $1 trillion, compared to $263 billion for MEXC and $206 billion for Bybit.
Bybit and HTX had almost equal market share at 7%, while Coinbase ranked fifth in terms of market dominance with 6.6%.
Despite its strong dominance, Binance’s broader Spot market share has fallen from 37.5% in October last year to the current 32% – a 5% decline amid an intensifying crypto winter and increasing competition from rival platforms.
Yet Binance’s share of derivatives trading remained unchanged at 40%. According to a separate report from CoinGlass, Binance has maintained its lead in the futures markets due to its deep liquidity.
Overall, the broader sector could be far from seeing a strong recovery despite BTC hovering around $70,000. With geopolitical tensions continuing into the second quarter, it remains to be seen whether the sector will reverse its ongoing downward trend.
Final summary
- Binance’s market share has fallen 5% since October, but still maintained its lead in Spot crypto trading activity.
- Perps has overtaken Spot trading activity by more than four times, underscoring the strong speculative interest in leveraged trading.