Crypto Derivatives Volumes Plummet to Multi-Month Lows in July
The cryptocurrency derivatives market experienced a significant contraction in July, with trading volumes on both centralized and decentralized exchanges plummeting to multi-month lows. Centralized exchanges recorded $4 trillion in perpetual futures volume for the month, the lowest level since December 2023, while decentralized exchanges saw $531 billion in perpetual futures volume, marking the lowest figure since June 2025.
The decline comes after a brief recovery period between April and June, when futures activity had shown signs of resilience. However, July saw a broad downturn across major platforms, reflecting a cooling appetite for leveraged trading. The slowdown was not confined to derivatives; spot trading also weakened considerably, with global average daily spot crypto trading volume falling by 23.6% between July 1 and July 31.
Decentralized exchanges, which had been gaining traction, were not immune to the downturn. DeFiLlama data shows that July DEX perpetual futures volume was approximately $531 billion, down about 21% from June's $676 billion.