Cryptocurrency spot trading declined by another 22% in Q2 2025, extending its slump despite bullish market conditions, according to a new report.
After falling from $5.3 trillion in Q4 2024 to $4.6 trillion in Q1 2025, crypto spot trading volumes on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) plunged further to $3.6 trillion in Q2, the crypto analytics platform TokenInsight said in its latest exchange report released Wednesday.
The ongoing downturn in the spot market came amid a drop in altcoin trading activity and liquidity in Q2, which contrasted to resilience in derivatives markets.
“Traders maintained their Q1 preference for high-frequency derivatives trading amid market uncertainty, aiming to hedge risks and leverage volatility,” the TokenInsight’s research team wrote in the report.
MEXC spot trades surge despite overall slump
While the average daily spot trading volume dropped 23%, falling from $52 billion in Q1 to $40 billion in Q2, a few exchanges increased their spot trading volumes last quarter.
MEXC, which has rapidly emerged as a major CEX in recent years, recorded the largest gain in the spot trading market among exchanges in Q2,rising by 2.7%. The only other exchange to see spot trading growth was Bitget, with spot volumes edging up around 0.7%.
After two consecutive quarters of declining spot trading volumes, the market is expected to maintain this downward trajectory, according to TokenInsight.
“Due to ongoing economic uncertainty, as well as limited liquidity and weak trading activity in the altcoin spot market, spot trading volume in Q3 2025 is projected to remain subdued, fluctuating between $3 trillion and $3.5 trillion,” the report noted.
Crypto derivatives show resilience
While spot markets on CEXs tumbled in the past quarter, crypto derivatives proved relatively resilient to price volatility.
In Q2 2025, derivatives trading volume totaled $20.2 trillion — a slight 3.6% dip from $20.9 trillion in Q1. Despite the modest decline, the figures underscore the ongoing impact of the broader market correction, according to TokenInsight.
“Although market sentiment was briefly lifted in early April by the Federal Reserve’s decision to pause rate hikes, concerns over global economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions continued to dominate investor behavior,” TokenInsight noted.
Bitcoin ETFs shine as CEX volumes decline
In contrast to CEXs’ dynamics in spot and derivative markets, crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced remarkable growth in Q2, with major issuers like BlackRock posting a 370% surge in inflows compared to the previous quarter.
BlackRock’s success came amid a broader surge in global crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), which attracted $17.8 billion in inflows during the first half of 2025. Nearly $15 billion of that total inflows came from BlackRock alone, according to data from CoinShares.
Related: Bitcoin, Ether ETFs clock second-biggest day of inflows on record
Driven by rising inflows into Bitcoin funds and increasing corporate adoption, Bitcoin’s price rebounded strongly in Q2, surging 25% over the quarter, according to CoinGecko. This marks a sharp reversal from the 12% decline recorded in Q1.
“Exchange tokens remain closely tied to the altcoin market, where trading activity and liquidity declined notably during the quarter — further weakening support for platform tokens,” TokenInsight concluded, adding:
“Looking ahead, the performance of exchange tokens is expected to remain divergent in Q3 2025.”
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