Crypto exchanges are losing retail traders but are filling the gap with Wall Street-style bets
Crypto exchange activity is weak, with April spot volume falling to $679 billion, the lowest since October 2023, and down 46% year over year. Perpetual futures volume also dropped 53% from 2025 highs, showing broad weakening in digital-asset demand rather than simple product rotation. Retail participation has faded, while larger traders, market makers, and institutions now account for a bigger share of activity, reflected in rising average trade sizes and deeper order-book demand on venues like Gate, Binance, Kraken, OKX, and MEXC. At the same time, major exchanges are growing a new business line: perpetual futures tied to traditional markets such as gold, silver, oil, stocks, and indexes. Monthly TradFi futures volume reached about $450 billion in March 2026, driven mainly by metals. Gate leads this segment, with Binance, MEXC, Bitget, and Bybit also active. The shift shows crypto platforms evolving from retail crypto speculation toward professional, 24/7 macro trading infrastructure.
