Monthly Top Tier Spot Volumes provided by CCData.
Derivatives markets account for nearly three-quarters of daily trading on crypto markets. Typically deals worth around $2bn a day change hands, according to CCData. Although regulated exchanges such as the US’s CME Group offer crypto futures, it has only a 2 per cent market share and the majority of deals take place on overseas exchanges such as OKX and Huobi.
Companies such as Huobi Global and KuCoin, both based in the Seychelles, are among those that have been able to increase their share of the trading of crypto tokens such as bitcoin and ether since the start of this year, according to data from industry research provider CCData.
In contrast, exchanges that are rated by CCData as “top tier” — due to them surpassing a “minimum threshold for acceptable risk” to customers — have suffered a fall in their collective market share from 80 per cent to about 68 per cent since the start of the year. In the same period Binance, the industry leader, has fallen from 56 per cent to slightly more than 40 per cent.
According to research provider CCData, the circulating value of crypto’s dollar-pegged tokens has fallen to $125bn, down from $188bn in March last year.
The decline not only represents the sector’s lowest market cap since August 2021, but stablecoins are on trend to record 17 consecutive months of declines.
Volumes in crypto derivatives, where investors punt on the future price of “traditional” cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, have fallen almost 50 per cent since the start of this year, as per CCData.
CCData provides contrasting numbers to Fortune
This writer asked CCData, a leading global digital currency data provider that tracks trading volumes for a number of exchanges, to provide a detailed breakdown for Binance from 2021 through the close of July. As a CCData analyst told Fortune, “We’re plugged into the exchange. We get the data directly from Binance, trade by trade.”
In July, centralized crypto exchanges saw a 12% drop in combined spot and derivatives trading volume to $2.36 trillion, marking the year's lowest reading, according to a CCData report. "The decrease in trading volumes can be attributed to the lack of volatility in the price action of major crypto assets, with Bitcoin and Ethereum largely trading in a narrow range throughout July," the report added.
More than 50 altcoins - a term referring to cryptocurrencies that are smaller than bitcoin and ether - have been labelled as securities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to CCData.
Derivatives giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) recorded double-digit growth in crypto options trading volume in July, helped by investor appetite for hedging tools.
Trading activity rose 24% to $940 million, registering the first increase in four months, according to data tracked by CCData. Volume in bitcoin (BTC) options rose 16.6% to $734 million, while ether (ETH) options registered a 60% increase to $207 million.
Trading activity rose 24% to $940 million, registering the first increase in four months, according to data tracked by CCData. Volume in bitcoin (BTC) options rose 16.6% to $734 million, while ether (ETH) options registered a 60% increase to $207 million.
"The increase in BTC options volume on the CME suggests that institutions might be hedging their positions with options as uncertainty remains in the market," CCData said in a report shared with CoinDesk.
Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, surpassed centralized exchanges Coinbase and OKX in terms of trading volume for the first time in July, according to a report by CCData.
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