Crypto Derivatives Volume Fell 15.7% in First Half of 2026

Crypto derivatives markets recorded $35.08 trillion in trading during the first six months of 2026, as turnover fell faster than outstanding positions and liquidations reached their highest monthly level in June.

Volume was down 15.7% from $41.60 trillion in the first half of 2025 and averaged $193.8 billion per day. Monthly trading volume fell from $6.73 trillion in January to $5.29 trillion in April, then rose to $5.66 trillion in June. June volume was up 6.5% from May but remained 15.9% below January.

Second-quarter volume totaled $16.27 trillion, a 13.5% decline from $18.81 trillion in the first quarter. Average daily open interest, which measures contracts that remain open, was $112.7 billion in the first half, down 10% from a year earlier. Its June 30 level of $99.94 billion was 17.9% below the start of the year.

Average daily open interest rose 2.1% in Q2 from Q1 even as trading volume fell. Volume counts trading during a period, while open interest measures contracts still outstanding. The two measures therefore show that turnover dropped while average open positions increased slightly quarter over quarter. TokenPost's explainer on open interest covers the distinction.

Liquidations across the tracked exchange sample totaled $73.35 billion in the first half. Long positions accounted for $45.63 billion, or 62.2%, and shorts made up $27.72 billion. June had the period's highest monthly total, $16.14 billion, with longs representing 69.5%. The largest listed daily total was $2.588 billion on Jan. 31, including $2.433 billion in long liquidations.

Trading was concentrated among the top 10 exchanges, which accounted for 81.2% of first-half volume. Binance represented 26.6%. CME had 12% of average daily open interest and 4.1% of volume.

CME Group's crypto products averaged 280,000 contracts per day through Q2, up 44% from the first half of 2025. The Q2 average was 250,000 contracts. These contract counts cover CME products and differ from the broader market totals, which are measured in dollars.