A M S MELAN

Fresh data from CryptoQuant shows Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchangetightening its grip on spot and derivatives trading, setting new records. The activity surge comes as on-chain and options metrics suggest investors are repositioning for a more active market environment.
The exchange is on track to set new records across spot and derivatives markets in 2025, even as traders continue to price uncertainty in the crypto market.
Binance leads, others follow
Liquidity pools into Binance as volatilityreturns">
Source: CryptoQuant
Crypto inflows into Binance hit $1.17 trillion in 2025, representing a 31% increase year on year. The inflow, which widens the gulf between Binance and other exchanges, coincided with the platform surpassing 300 million registered users.
Coinbase comes second after Binance with respect to crypto inflows, seeing $946 billion in 2025, which is a 30% increase from the previous year.
Source: CryptoQuant
Binance spot trading volume is projected to reach about $7 trillion by year-end, nearly five times that of its closest competitor, Bybit. According to CryptoQuant, “the total number of spot trades reached a new all-time high of 24.1 billion in 2025, up 4% year over year and more than 3x higher than in 2022.”
Binance also posted a record high this year in the total number of perpetual futures trades, which reached 49.6 billion, 33% above last year’s record high of 37.3 billion trades.
The platform’s perpetual futures volume has already exceeded $24.6 trillion, more than double the volume of ………
Source: CryptoQuant
Julio, Head of Research at CryptoQuant, pointed out that this current boost in activity metrics indicates “sustained growth in user activity throughout the current bull cycle.”
By June 2025, Binance had captured 41.1% of global spot volume, maintaining a market share of 39.8% among centralized exchanges the following month.
Market uncertainty drives hedging activity
The renewed focus on liquidity comes as volatility shows signs of returning after a stable six-month period. Glasnode analysis indicates that during a sharp drawdown in the market several weeks ago, risk hedging activity increased substantially, with elevated put demand as Bitcoin prices moved into the low-$80,000 range.
Source: Glassnode on X
While market conditions have stabilized, and expectations for extreme moves have moderated, “implied volatility remains elevated relative to the exceptionally low-volatility regime observed over the prior six months, suggesting a shift toward a more active volatility environment,” according to Glassnode.
Large centralized exchanges tend to benefit when volatility rises, as hedging, arbitrage, and high-frequency strategies all rely on deep and continuous liquidity. Binance’s scale across spot and perpetual futures markets places it at the center of that activity.
The concentration of liquidity on Binance highlights a structural feature of crypto markets, which is that liquidity tends to pool where liquidity already exists.
Other exchanges continue to play important roles in specific regions or product niches, and institutional activity on regulated venues remains influential for benchmark pricing.

Bitcoin (BTC) is poised for its fourth annual decline in history. Moreover, this time the decline is not coinciding with a major scandal or a sector-wide collapse, as in previous years.
The world's largest cryptocurrencyexperienced a sharp sell-off yesterday, losing as much as 5.2% during the day. Bitcoin is down approximately 7% year-to-date.
While this decline is more limited compared to the sharp crashes of the previous three years of losses, it is occurring in a very different environment. Since the last major crypto crash in 2022, institutional adoption has increased, the regulatory framework has matured, and the sector has gained the explicit support of US President Donald Trump. Despite this, Bitcoin has surprised investors with its rapid pullback since its all-time high of over $126,000 in early October.
Trading volumes remain low, investors are exiting Bitcoin ETFs, and derivatives markets are showing little appetite for a potential rebound. Even large-scale purchases by Michael Saylor’s company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) weren’t enough to reverse the weakness in prices. “The lack of a strong follow-up despite so many positive catalysts has surprised many,” commented Pratik Kala, portfolio manager at Apollo Crypto.
The current picture also shows Bitcoin decoupling from stocks. While the S&P 500 index hit a record high closing earlier this month, it has risen 16 percent year-to-date. Technology stocks, which often move in tandem with Bitcoin, have performed even more strongly.
Each of Bitcoin's three major past declines has been linked to significant events that eroded market confidence. In 2014, the Mt. Gox exchange hack and collapse exposed weaknesses in early crypto infrastructure, causing Bitcoin to lose 58% of its value that year. In 2018, the bursting of the ICO bubbleand regulatory pressures led to a historic 74% drop in Bitcoin. The 2022 crash, meanwhile, resulted in the bankruptcy of several large companies, including FTX, and triggered extensive regulatory pressure in the US.
Up until its peak in October, Bitcoin's rise seemed unstoppable. Trump's declaration of cryptocurrencies as a national priority, the US Congress's historic stablecoin law, and billions of dollars inflows into Bitcoin ETFs fueled optimism. However, behind the scenes, vulnerabilities had accumulated, particularly regarding excessive leverage. On October 10th, the liquidation of $19 billion in leveraged positions exposed these vulnerabilities, severely shaking the market.
According to Pratik Kala, “Selling by old whaleshas severely suppressed momentum. The sector got everything it wanted on the regulatory side, even ETFs with staking, but the price couldn’t keep up.” This picture suggests that a cautious stance may prevail in the Bitcoin market in the short term.
$BTC