The ongoing crypto rout has nearly halved overall trading activity since the crash in October 2025.
Total crypto trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEXs) dropped 48% to $4.3 trillion in March 2026, according to CryptoQuant.
The October crash in particular set the local peak for activity at around $8.2 trillion, with CryptoQuant stating that the bearish trend is ‘clear market cooling’ after the 2024 cycle peak.
This is at its lowest level since October 2024, indicating a marked cooling in market participation after the previous cycle’s peak.
Interestingly, continuous trading dominated CEX trading. Perpetual contracts (often referred to as perpetrators) allow investors to trade with leverage to increase potential gains without expiration like Options contracts.
As of March, perpetrators accounted for $3.5 trillion of CEX trading activity. By contrast, Spot activity generated only $0.8 trillion; This means criminals have 4 times more Spot volumes.
Meanwhile, criminal volumes have also seen an increase sharp decline for the last five consecutive months. This was not surprising, however, as speculative interest waned during the crypto winter.
Binance’s share dropped 5% but still ahead
From a platform perspective, Binance has maintained its industry leadership despite increasing competition.
CryptoQuant noted that Binance leads the market in cumulative Spot trading volumes with a 32% market share.
Binance’s total Spot trading volume so far in 2026 is almost $1 trillion, while MEXC has $263 billion and Bybit has $206 billion.
Bybit and HTX had almost 7% market share, while Coinbase ranked fifth with 6.6% market dominance.
Despite its strong dominance, Binance’s broad Spot market share has fallen from 37.5% last October to its current 32%; This is a 5% decline amid an intensifying crypto winter and increased competition from rival platforms.
Despite this, Binance’s share in derivatives trading remained unchanged at 40%. According to a separate report from CoinGlass, Binance maintained its leadership in the futures markets due to deep liquidity.
Overall, although BTC is hovering around $70,000, the sector may be far from a strong recovery. It is not yet known whether the sector will reverse its ongoing downward trend, with geopolitical tensions extending into the second quarter.
Final Summary
- Binance’s market share has fallen 5% since October, but Spot still maintains its lead in crypto trading activity.
- Perps outpaced spot trading activity by more than four times, underscoring strong speculative interest in leveraged trading.
