According to data, the total trading volume of crypto futures on major exchanges fell to a near 12-month low in May, reaching approximately $2.9 trillion on a monthly scale. This marks a return to levels seen since the end of 2023, significantly lower than the peak monthly volumes of $6 to $7 trillion during the active period last year.
This decline reflects an overall cooling of speculative trading in the crypto market, with both spot trading volumes and on-chain activity also weakening. Trading volume remains highly concentrated on a few leading platforms, where Binance continues to dominate, followed by OKX, Bybit, and Gate. Smaller and mid-tier trading platforms are experiencing more pronounced liquidity drain during this low-activity cycle.
Meanwhile, the CFTC is pushing to pave the way for opening crypto perpetual swaps to the U.S. market. For perpetual swap products, which have primarily existed in offshore markets for a long time, this could present a significant structural opportunity. (The Block)