Crypto Trading Dips in Q2, Despite Bitcoin's Rise
Even with Bitcoin performing well, the overall buying and selling of cryptocurrencies directly (known as "spot trading") on major platforms saw a significant drop in the second quarter of 2025. This downturn extends a previous slump, according to a new analysis.
Spot Trading Takes a Hit
After falling from £4.2 trillion in late 2024 to £3.6 trillion in early 2025, the volume of crypto spot trading on big centralised exchanges (CEXs) fell further to £2.8 trillion in Q2. This ongoing decline in the spot market happened as trading in other cryptocurrencies (altcoins) and their availability became less active in the second quarter. This is in contrast to the strong performance of more complex trading products, known as derivatives.
Researchers noted that traders continued to prefer frequent derivatives trading, as they did in the first quarter, to manage risks and benefit from market swings during uncertain times.
Some Exchanges Buck the Trend
While the average daily spot trading volume dropped by 23% from £41 billion in Q1 to £31 billion in Q2, a few exchanges actually saw their spot trading volumes increase last quarter. One exchange, which has become a significant player in recent years, recorded the biggest gain in the spot trading market among exchanges in Q2, rising by 2.7%. Another exchange also saw a small increase of about 0.7%.
After two quarters in a row of falling spot trading volumes, it's expected that this downward trend will continue. Due to ongoing economic uncertainty, low availability of cryptocurrencies, and weak trading in altcoin spot markets, spot trading volume in the third quarter of 2025 is predicted to remain low, hovering between £2.3 trillion and £2.7 trillion.
Derivatives Show Strength
While the regular spot markets on centralised exchanges struggled last quarter, crypto derivatives proved to be quite stable despite price changes. In Q2 2025, derivatives trading amounted to £15.9 trillion – a slight dip of 3.6% from £16.5 trillion in Q1. Even with this small decline, the figures highlight the ongoing impact of the wider market correction.
Although market confidence briefly improved in early April when the central bank decided to pause interest rate hikes, worries about a global economic slowdown and international tensions continued to affect how investors behaved.
Bitcoin Funds Shine Brightly
In contrast to the trends in spot and derivatives markets on centralised exchanges, cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced remarkable growth in Q2. Major providers saw a huge 370% increase in money flowing into their funds compared to the previous quarter.
This success came alongside a broader surge in global crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), which attracted £14.1 billion in new money during the first half of 2025. Almost £11.8 billion of that total came from one major provider alone.
Driven by increasing money flowing into Bitcoin funds and growing adoption by companies, Bitcoin's price bounced back strongly in Q2, rising by 25% over the quarter. This is a sharp reversal from the 12% decline seen in Q1. It was also noted that exchange tokens are still closely linked to the altcoin market, where trading activity and availability dropped significantly during the quarter, further weakening support for these platform-specific tokens.
