Crypto Spot Trading Drops 22% in Q2 2025 Amid Altcoin Decline

Cryptocurrency spot trading experienced a significant decline of 22% in the second quarter of 2025, despite a bullish market environment. This downturn followed a previous decrease from $5.3 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $4.6 trillion in the first quarter of 2025. The latest figures from the crypto analytics platform TokenInsight revealed that spot trading volumes on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) further plummeted to $3.6 trillion in the second quarter.

The decline in spot trading was attributed to a drop in altcoin trading activity and liquidity, which contrasted with the resilience shown in derivatives markets. Traders continued to prefer high-frequency derivatives trading to hedge risks and leverage volatility, according to TokenInsight’s research team. This preference for derivatives trading was maintained despite the overall market uncertainty.

While the average daily spot trading volume decreased by 23%, falling from $52 billion in the first quarter to $40 billion in the second quarter, a few exchanges managed to increase their spot trading volumes. MEXC, which has rapidly emerged as a major CEX, recorded the largest gain in the spot trading market among exchanges, rising by 2.7%. Bitget was the only other exchange to see spot trading growth, with volumes edging up around 0.7%.

Looking ahead, the market is expected to maintain this downward trajectory. Due to ongoing economic uncertainty, as well as limited liquidity and weak trading activity in the altcoin spot market, spot trading volume in the third quarter of 2025 is projected to remain subdued, fluctuating between $3 trillion and $3.5 trillion, according to TokenInsight.

In contrast to the spot markets, crypto derivatives showed relative resilience to price volatility. In the second quarter of 2025, derivatives trading volume totaled $20.2 trillion, a 3.6% dip from $20.9 trillion in the first quarter. Despite the modest decline, these figures underscore the ongoing impact of the broader market correction. 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.

Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced remarkable growth in the second quarter, with major issuers like BlackRock posting a 370% surge in inflows compared to the previous quarter. This growth 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 inflow came from BlackRock alone. Driven by rising inflows into Bitcoin funds and increasing corporate adoption, Bitcoin’s price rebounded strongly in the second quarter, surging 25% over the quarter. This marks a sharp reversal from the 12% decline recorded in the first quarter.

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. Looking ahead, the performance of exchange tokens is expected to remain divergent in the third quarter of 2025, according to TokenInsight.