CEX perpetual contract trading volume fell to US$4 trillion, hitting a new low since the end of 2023

The trading volume of crypto derivatives plummeted in July, and CEX perpetual contracts hit a 31-month low.

In July, the trading activities of centralized and decentralized crypto derivatives cooled significantly, and the trading volume of perpetual contracts on major mainstream platforms fell to a multi-month low. The slowdown suggests weakening speculative momentum-traders are becoming cautious in a market environment where liquidity and positions are as important as spot demand.

According to data released by CryptoRank on the X platform, perpetual contract trading volume on the Centralized Exchange (CEX) fell to US$4 trillion in July, the lowest level in 31 months since December 2023. The report also pointed out that the spot market also performed weakly that month, further confirming the trend of declining overall market participation.

Key Points

· CryptoRank data showed that CEX perpetual contract trading volume fell to US$4 trillion in July, a 31-month low.
·Binance contributed the majority of CEX perpetual contract trading volume, reaching US$1.4 trillion;OKX and Bybit accounted for US$607 billion and US$300 billion respectively.
· Coinglass reported that CEX spot trading volume fell 23.6% to US$13.6 billion in July from US$17.8 billion at the beginning of the month.
· DefiLlama data showed that trading volume of DEX perpetual contracts fell to US$531 billion in July, near a one-year low, and open interest in DEX contracts also fell.
·On the leading DEX Hyperliquid, the importance of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) is increasing, despite a decline in overall DEX perpetual contract activity.

CEX perpetual contract drops to 31-month low

CryptoRank said that total perpetual contract transactions on centralized exchanges totaled US$4 trillion in July, falling to the lowest level since December 2023. After a brief recovery from April to June, trading volume on major platforms fell again that month. According to CryptoRank's post, Binance leads the way with US$1.4 trillion in monthly perpetual contract transactions, followed by OKX with US$607 billion, and Bybit with US$300 billion.

For market participants, changes in the trading volume of perpetual contracts can serve as an effective reference for speculative activities and traders 'willingness to use leverage. When trading volumes compress-especially after a brief rebound-even while spot interest remains unchanged, liquidity and price discovery capabilities in derivatives dominated markets can become fragile.

Spot weakness and decline in derivatives activity

Some of the broader contraction also appears to be related to spot trading. Coinglass data cited in the report showed that from July 1 to 31, daily spot cryptocurrency trading volume fell 23.6% from US$17.8 billion to US$13.6 billion.

This is important because spot and derivative flows tend to fluctuate simultaneously during the risk appetite or risk aversion phase. As spot participation weakens that month, it becomes more difficult for the perpetual contract market to maintain high turnover rates-especially when traders are less willing to leverage hedging or make directional bets.

DEX Perpetual Contracts Close to One-Year Low, Open Interest Contracts Fall

Derivatives activity on decentralized exchanges also weakened. DefiLlama data showed that DEX perpetual contract trading volume fell to US$531 billion in July, the lowest level since June 2025. The report also pointed out that it was a 21% decrease from US$676 billion in June 2026.

In addition to trading volume, DEX's open interest also fell. According to the same data source, open interest on DEX fell to $17.9 billion in July from a high of $19.4 billion in September 2025. Open interest reflects the total value of active, unsettled perpetual contracts and helps determine whether new money is entering the market or whether existing positions are declining.

In other words, the slowdown in July was not only a decrease in trading volume, but also a reflection of an overall decline in leverage exposure on the DEX platform.

Hyperliquid maintains lead in trading volume, with RWA share rising

Despite the decline in overall DEX perpetual contract activity, Hyperliquid still performs well as a leading platform. DefiLlama data cited in the report showed that Hyperliquid reported $199 billion in transaction volume in the past 30 days.

The change in Hyperliquid is not the dominance of trading volume per se, but the composition of trading volume. A larger proportion of Hyperliquid transactions come from tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The report said RWA accounted for 32% of Hyperliquid's second-quarter trading activity, corresponding to 6.6% of its quarterly revenue of $169 million.

The shift to RWA is also reflected in category rankings. The article pointed out that last month tokenized assets became Hyperliquid's largest trading category for the first time, with RWA accounting for 52% of total trading volume during the agreement week between July 13 and 19.

For traders and builders, this is a significant departure from the overall situation in July: although total trading volume of DEX perpetual contracts and DEX open interest contracts fell, the internal composition of Hyperliquid is more inclined to tokenized assets. This suggests that even if overall demand for leverage cools, demand for certain contract exposure may remain sticky.

Follow-up Focus

With perpetual contract activity in both CEX and DEX at multi-month lows, and spot trading volumes declining in July, the next signal for traders will be whether August will see a rebound in spot participation and continued growth in perpetual contract holdings, or whether this contraction will become a longer-term trend. At the same time, the rising share of RWA on Hyperliquid raises an independent question: Can the flow of funds from tokenized assets offset the weakening momentum of broader derivatives in the coming months?