The August 2024 edition of CCData’s Exchange Review report reveals several significant trends in the digital asset market.

CCData, an FCA-authorized benchmark administrator, is a global leader in digital asset data. It offers high-quality real-time and historical data for institutional and retail investors. Known for its expertise and objective insights into the digital asset industry, CCData publishes the Exchange Review monthly.

This report captures key developments in the cryptocurrency exchange market, including analyses of exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fee models, and crypto-to-crypto versus fiat-to-crypto volumes. It also examines Bitcoin trading against various fiat currencies and stablecoins, ranks top crypto exchanges by spot trading volume, and tracks historical volume trends for top trans-fee mining and decentralized exchanges. The review caters to crypto enthusiasts, investors, analysts, and regulators seeking comprehensive and specific market analyses.

On 4 September 2024, CCData released its August 2024 edition of the Exchange Review report, highlighting a rise in trading volumes on centralised exchanges. This marks the second consecutive month of increased activity, driven by significant volatility in global markets. The combined trading volume for spot and derivatives on these platforms reached $5.22 trillion, an increase of 5.38% compared to the previous month. This surge in activity followed the unwinding of the Japanese Yen carry trade, which impacted both traditional financial indices and digital assets alike.

Spot trading volumes on centralised exchanges climbed by 7.06%, reaching $1.54 trillion—the highest level since May 2024. Similarly, derivatives trading volumes grew by 4.7% to $3.68 trillion, marking another high since May. Despite the rise in overall volume, the report noted that August’s price drops led to cascading liquidations, pushing the total open interest in derivatives down by 15.7%, leaving it at $45.8 billion.

Crypto.com stood out in August, with its trading activity hitting new records. The exchange’s spot trading volume saw a dramatic rise of 38.7%, climbing to $95.6 billion, which represented the highest monthly figure since 2022. In addition, its derivatives trading volume also reached an all-time high, surging 38.2% to $104 billion. Consequently, the exchange’s spot market share rose to 6.21%, while its derivatives market share reached 2.83%, both representing record levels. The increased activity has been attributed to Crypto.com’s growing institutional and advanced retail client base, according to the company’s managing director.

Binance, another major player in the market, saw its spot market share increase for the first time in five months, reaching 29.0%. However, its derivatives market share continued to decline for the third consecutive month, dropping to 42.7%. Bybit also recorded significant growth, achieving new highs in both spot and derivatives trading market share. The exchange’s spot market share rose to 9.89%, while its derivatives market share climbed to 15.9%, both all-time highs.

Trading volumes for Ethereum derivatives on the CME saw notable declines in August. The total derivatives volume on the exchange dropped by 1.16%, closing the month at $129 billion. While Bitcoin futures on the CME experienced a slight increase of 3.74%, rising to $104 billion, Bitcoin options fell by 13.4% to $2.42 billion. In contrast, Ether futures and options experienced more pronounced drops, falling 28.7% to $14.8 billion and 37.0% to $567 million, respectively. These figures represent the lowest volume for Ether futures since December 2023.

The report linked the reduction in trading volumes for Ethereum instruments to a lack of anticipated institutional interest, particularly following the launch of spot ETH ETFs in May. The subdued inflows into these ETFs in August further underscored this trend. Additionally, the report pointed to seasonal effects, which likely contributed to lower trading activity, with expectations of this pattern continuing into September.

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