Bullish Volume Drops 42.9%, Wider Spread Partially Compensates Loss
Bullish, the subsidiary of CoinDesk, reported a significant decline in trading volume for July. According to unaudited metrics released on August 6, the exchange operator's total trading volume fell to $30.7 billion, down 39.7% from June and 42.9% year over year. However, despite this drop, Bullish's company-defined average trading spread widened by 72.4%, nearly offsetting the loss of activity.
The derived volume-times-spread proxy, which takes into account both metrics, slipped 1.6% year over year and 38.3% from June, suggesting that the wider spread did not fully counter the decline in trading volume. Bullish defines its average trading spread as a combination of commissions relative to volume and changes in the fair value of perpetual futures and rebates.
Within spot trading, Ethereum's volume dropped significantly, falling 73% year over year from $11.1 billion in July 2025 to $3 billion in July this year. Total spot volume also declined, down 40.4% from last year and 36% from June.