2024

Cryptocurrency

when

Zcash

Cryptocurrency derivatives trading volume surged to almost $85.7 trillion in 2025, averaging about $264.5 billion a day, according to a report by liquidation data tracker CoinGlass.
Binance led the market with roughly $25.09 trillion in cumulative derivatives volume, or about 29.3% of global trading, meaning nearly $30 of every $100 traded ran through the exchange, CoinGlass <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/learn/2025-annual-report-en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">said</a>.
OKX, Bybit and Bitget followed, each posting $8.2 trillion to $10.8 trillion in yearly volume. These four exchanges accounted for about 62.3% of total market share.
CoinGlass said institutional pathways expanded through spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and compliant futures, helping drive a structural rise for Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which had already overtaken Binance in Bitcoin (<a href="/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer">BTC</a>) <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-open-interest-in-the-crypto-futures-market" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">futures open interest</a> in 2024 and consolidated its footing in 2025.
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 <img alt="Crypto derivatives volume explode to $86T in 2025, averaging $265B per day" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b551a-8724-71fe-8732-2d877338b2ed.PNG" title="">
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 Binance leads in terms of derivatives volume. Source: <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/learn/2025-annual-report-en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CoinGlass</a>
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Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/bitcoin-spot-vs-derivatives-trading" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin spot vs. derivatives trading: What's the difference?</a>
<h2 id="derivatives-grow-in-complexity">Derivatives grow in complexity</h2>
CoinGlass said that derivatives also grew in complexity in 2025. The market moved away from a retail-led, high-leverage boom-and-bust model toward a mix of institutional hedging, basis trading and ETFs.
This shift came with a cost, as deeper leverage chains and more interconnected positioning increased “tail risks.”
“Extreme events that erupted during 2025 imposed stress tests of unprecedented scale on existing margin mechanisms, liquidation rules, and cross-platform risk transmission pathways,” the report said.
Global crypto derivatives open interest sank to a yearly low of about $87 billion after deleveraging in the first quarter, then surged through the middle of the year to a record $235.9 billion on Oct. 7.
A sharp reset in early Q4 erased more than $70 billion in positions, roughly one-third of total open interest, in a flash deleveraging event. Even after that shakeout, year-end open interest of $145.1 billion still marked a 17% increase from the start of the year.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-due-gains-record-24b-options-expiry-lifts-lid-btc-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin due gains after record $24B options expiry lifts 'lid' on BTC price</a>
<h2 id="october-s-liquidation-shock-exposed-plumbing-risks">October’s liquidation shock exposed plumbing risks</h2>
The biggest stress test of the year <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-wobbles-110k-trader-says-20b-liquidation-rout-not-bottom" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">hit in early October</a>. CoinGlass estimated total forced liquidations in 2025 at about $150 billion, but a big chunk of the damage came during Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, when liquidations <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/19b-crypto-market-crash-leverage-china-tariffs" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">topped $19 billion</a>. Most of the wipeout was on the long side, with 85%–90% of liquidations coming from traders betting on higher prices.
<figure>
 <img alt="Crypto derivatives volume explode to $86T in 2025, averaging $265B per day" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b551b-f633-7735-973f-78ca51a31ec7.PNG" title="">
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 Total liquidations in 2025. Source: CoinGlass
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CoinGlass linked the crash to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on imports from China. That pushed markets into “risk-off.”
Magazine:<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2026-pragmatic-privacy-crypto-canton-zcash-ethereum-foundation/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto — Canton, Zcash and more</a>

Crypto derivatives volume explode to $86T in 2025, averaging $265B per day

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