Binance Strengthens Its Dominance as Crypto Trading Becomes More Centralized: Analysis

In 2025, crypto exchange activities experienced a stark divergence, with a slowdown in spot market growth and a robust expansion in derivatives trading. The total spot trading volume hit $18.6 trillion, marking a 9% year-on-year increase, but a significant drop from the 154% growth seen in 2024. In contrast, perpetual futures trading surged by 29% year-on-year to reach $61.7 trillion, gaining $13.8 trillion in volume from the previous year, according to CryptoQuant. Spot trading remained firmly in the hands of major players, with Binance achieving nearly $7 trillion in volume, representing 41% of the total from the top ten exchanges. Binance led trading in both Bitcoin and altcoins, with particularly high volumes noted in Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Tron (TRX), and Solana (SOL). Other exchanges, such as Bybit, MEXC, and Crypto.com, trailed significantly, each reporting about $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion in spot volume. In Bitcoin perpetual futures, Binance continued to hold a dominant position, handling $25.4 trillion in volume, or 42% of the top ten total. OKX, Bybit, and Bitget formed a secondary tier with between 11% and 19% market share. Hyperliquid made a mark with $2.2 trillion in volume, while all other exchanges, including Coinbase, collectively represented roughly 10%. Similarly, stablecoin liquidity was highly concentrated, with Binance holding $47.6 billion in USDT and USDC reserves, accounting for 72% of the top ten balances. Overall reserves showed a marked decrease beyond the largest holders, with Binance and Coinbase together making up more than half of the total reserves in BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC. Additionally, independent journalist Colin Wu indicated that traffic data revealed distinct regional trends in exchange use. Binance's user base was notably diverse, with significant traffic from South Korea, Brazil, and Vietnam. In contrast, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Kraken primarily drew their traffic from the United States, while several exchanges received notable visits from Russia and surrounding regions.