Crypto Spot Volumes on Centralized Exchanges Hit Lowest since March 2019

The volume of cryptocurrency spot trading on centralized exchanges (CEXs) plunged 21.8% in May to $495 billion, marking the lowest monthly trading volume since March 2019. Also, derivatives trading volumes slumped 15.7% to $1.95 trillion, which is the lowest since December 2022.

Crypto Derivatives Market Share Hits Peak

These figures are according to new data by digital asset data provider, CCData, previously known as CryptoCompare. Moreover, CCData is a benchmark administrator authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

According to the firm, despite the decrease in derivatives trading volumes on CEXs, the market share of the segment reached an all-time-high last month, expanding to 79.8%. However, the volume of spot and derivatives trading combined slid 15.7% to $2.41 trillion.

CCData explained that the volume represents the second consecutive drop in monthly volumes of the combined activities. The decrease came as the prices of digital assets fluctuated within a relatively narrow range during the period.

“The popularity of meme coins traded on decentralized venues has also contributed to the declining trading activity on centralized exchanges,” CCData added.

Binance Shrinks, CME Grows

Giving more details on the cryptocurrency trading market, CCData noted that spot trading on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, nosedived 26% to $221 billion in May. In addition, Binance’s spot market share shrank for the third consecutive month, slipping to 43%.

The data analytics firm attributed Binance's continued weakness to the halting of zero-free trading for stablecoin USDT pairs, general weakness in the market and increased scrutiny from regulators.

Finance Magnates reported that cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States continue to face regulatory crackdown, with Binance and Coinbase sued this week by the federal securities regulator for allegedly operating illegal exchanges and offering unregistered crypto asset securities.

Meanwhile, CCData’s data shows that Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) remained resilient in the face of plummeting volumes in the crypto derivatives industry. The top derivatives exchange posted a marginal growth of 0.53% in its derivatives volume, with total trades worth $39.1 billion.

“CME's resilience can be attributed to continued institutional interest in Bitcoin, as demonstrated by a 10.5% surge in BTC futures volume to $29.5bn,” CCData noted.

Moreover, CCData shows that Uniswap, the biggest decentralized crypto exchange in the world, continued to outperform all CEXs, with the exception of Binance, for the fourth consecutive month. This is despite the fact that the exchange’s volume fell 11.6% to $33 billion last month.

Uniswap functions as a non-custodial exchange that enables users to trade Ethereum blockchain-based ERC-20 tokens directly with each other without the need for a third party.

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