Odaily Planet Daily report: The popularity of leveraged trading in the crypto market continues to decline. Data shows that in July 2026, trading volume for crypto perpetual futures on centralized exchanges (CEXs) dropped to $4 trillion, reaching the lowest level since December 2023. The data indicates that perpetual contract trading volume briefly rebounded between April and June this year, but saw a broad decline across major trading platforms in July.
As the perpetual futures market cools, spot trading activity has also declined. According to Coinglass, global cryptocurrency spot daily trading volume fell from $17.8 billion to $13.6 billion between July 1 and July 31, a 23.6% drop.
The decentralized exchange (DEX) perpetuals market has also shown signs of weakness. According to DeFiLlama data, DEX perpetuals trading volume in July dropped to $531 billion, the lowest level since June 2025, representing a roughly 21% decline from $676 billion in June 2026.
Looking at the long-term trend, DEX perpetual trading volume has been declining since reaching a peak of $1.36 trillion in October 2025. Meanwhile, the open interest of DEX perpetual contracts has dropped from a high of $19.4 billion in September 2025 to $17.9 billion in July.
Market analysts believe that the decline in perpetual contract trading volume reflects reduced investor risk appetite and a retreat of leveraged funds; however, growth in emerging asset classes such as RWA could become a key driver for the next phase of on-chain derivatives markets. (Cointelegraph)