In the first half of 2025, the crypto derivatives market continued to evolve at a rapid pace, consolidating existing leaderships and bringing new players to the forefront.
As highlighted by the 2025 semi-annual report of CoinGlass, the main centralized and decentralized platforms have shown interesting dynamics.
Binance has strengthened its centrality, OKX has accelerated the transition towards Web3, while emerging players like Bybit, Bitget, Gate, and Hyperliquid have gained new shares thanks to innovative strategies.
In this article, we analyze the most significant data and trends that are redefining the ecosystem of crypto exchange.
Binance: the market centrality among depth, volumes, and price discovery of crypto in 2025
In 2025, Binance confirmed its position as the dominant platform for liquidity, volumes, and price discovery capability.
According to CoinGlass, Binance has maintained an average daily volume on derivatives around $200 billion, often surpassing the combined volumes of major competing platforms.
During episodes of high volatility, the daily volume reached extreme peaks, reinforcing Binance’s role as the preferred platform for institutional and high-frequency traders.
The market depth remains the main strength: the order book on BTC shows an average depth greater than $8 million per side, about double compared to the runner-up.
Binance continues to be the hub of global price discovery, with the ability to absorb large volumes while minimizing slippage and ensuring competitive spreads.
This “winner effect” attracts traders and capital, fueling a virtuous circle that further strengthens its leadership.
OKX has maintained a solid position in the derivatives market, with average daily volumes between $20–40 billion and peaks in line with phases of greater volatility.
Although the platform remains among the top for volumes and liquidity, CoinGlass highlights a slight slowdown in the growth rate compared to more aggressive competitors.
This dynamic is due, in part, to OKX’s strategic choice to diversify its business by focusing on Web3.
The growth of the OKX Wallet has been extraordinary, bringing millions of users into the DeFi and NFT ecosystem and helping to position the platform as a bridge between CEX and on‑chain.
The increasing focus on Web3 products, while marginally slowing down the CEX derivatives segment, opens up new growth opportunities in the medium to long term.
Bybit: solidity and growth in the retail and Web3 markets
Bybit has consolidated its third global position in the derivatives markets, maintaining a market share between 10–15%, with average daily volumes between $17–35 billion.
According to CoinGlass, Bybit has stood out for its ability to capture retail demand thanks to an intuitive user experience and a strong community.
The brand has also managed to expand its influence in Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia, markets where it has consolidated a very engaged active user base.
Bybit has also made significant strides towards Web3, positioning itself as a platform that combines the solidity of centralized trading with DeFi initiatives and on‑chain innovations.
This combination of solidity and innovation has allowed Bybit to remain competitive even against larger players.
Bitget is one of the most interesting cases of the semester, with growth that CoinGlass describes as “explosive”.
The average daily volumes of perpetuals have consistently risen in the $15–30 billion range, with peaks up to $90 billion during the market’s most turbulent phases.
Bitget has focused on an aggressive strategy to capture emerging markets, particularly in Southeast Asia and Latin America, thanks to local partnerships and targeted marketing campaigns.
The Bitget team has also invested heavily in technology and user experience, optimizing the platform’s stability and expanding the offering of derivative contracts.
This strategy has worked: Bitget is now considered one of the most promising platforms, ready to challenge the positions of the top players in the coming years.
Gate: new strength in the retail and derivatives market
Gate.io also experienced a significant growth phase in 2025. The average daily volumes stabilized between $10–30 billion, with peaks close to $60 billion.
According to CoinGlass, the platform has managed to differentiate itself by constantly expanding the range of derivative contracts and leveraged products, with a particular focus on retail clients.
Its ability to offer a wide choice of assets, tight spreads, and diversified instruments has attracted a young audience interested in experimenting with more dynamic strategies.
Gate is emerging as one of the most dynamic entities among the mid-tier players, capable of carving out an important role among retail traders and progressively strengthening its influence on the market.
The year 2025 also confirmed the growing relevance of decentralized platforms, with Hyperliquid at the forefront.
This derivatives DEX reached average daily volumes exceeding $3 billion, with peaks up to $17 billion on days of high volatility.
Hyperliquid has revolutionized the sector thanks to a proprietary technology that eliminates the dependence on external oracles, offering very low latency and a market depth comparable to traditional CEX.
Today Hyperliquid holds over 80% of the market share of decentralized perpetuals and has seen key indicators explode such as TVL, active users, and protocol revenue.
The success of Hyperliquid demonstrates how the DeFi sector is ready to compete on significant volumes, offering users the advantages of decentralization without sacrificing liquidity and speed.
The first half of 2025 showed an evolving exchange ecosystem:
Binance remains firmly at the center of the market, leader in volumes and depth.
OKX reinvents itself by focusing on Web3.
Bybit consolidates its retail base and opens up to on‑chain innovations.
Bitget grows rapidly thanks to a targeted strategy in emerging markets.
Gate stands out as a point of reference for retail.
Hyperliquid demonstrates that DEX can now compete on equal footing with CEX.
For investors and traders, this diversification offers unique opportunities to choose the platforms most suited to their strategies, in an increasingly liquid, competitive, and innovative market.
