Is TradFi Taking Over Crypto? Futures Explode While Spot Trading Stalls—What’s Driving the Shift?

Ever wondered what gold, silver, oil—and crypto—have in common these days? Turns out, quite a bit more than you might think. With geopolitical tensions reaching new heights, traditional finance perpetual futures are seeing a surprising surge on crypto exchanges, led by Gate and Binance. While Bitcoin’s demand seems to be taking a back seat, institutional players haven’t exactly given up the game—they’re just switching lanes, diving headfirst into macro assets like metals and oil through 24/7 trading markets. It’s almost like the worlds of shiny bullion and digital coins are finally shaking hands amid global uncertainty. Curious about who’s dominating this hybrid financial dance and what it means for the future? Dive deeper and get the full scoop right here. LEARN MORE.

The uptick in TradFi perpetual futures activity is driven by rising demand for gold, silver, and oil amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

In the latest edition of the weekly CryptoQuant report, analysts have revealed a surge in traditional finance (TradFi) perpetual futures activity even as demand for bitcoin (BTC) remains contracted. Even with the declining demand, BTC trade sizes have signaled significant institutional activity.

According to the report, the rising TradFi perpetual futures activity can be seen in crypto exchanges, with Gate and Binance leading the trend. In fact, most exchanges are now diversifying beyond cryptocurrencies and tapping into precious metal-related trading activity.

TradFi Perpetual Futures See Increased Activity

CryptoQuant noted that the uptick in TradFi perpetual futures activity is driven by rising demand for gold, silver, and oil amid geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran. This trend underscores the growing convergence of traditional and crypto markets; market participants are now using crypto exchanges to access macro assets.

Gate is leading the crypto-TradFi convergence market with $368 billion in TradFi perpetual futures volume. Together with Binance, which accounts for $298 billion, the two exchanges have processed roughly two-thirds of all TradFi futures trading volume recorded so far this year. Although other exchanges like MEXC, Bitget, and Bybit also partake in the market share, Gate remains the leader with investments in tokenized stocks, metals, 24/7 derivatives markets, and indices.

“As gold and silver prices reached record highs amid persistent inflation concerns, global equities rallied to new highs driven by AI-related optimism, and oil prices surged following heightened geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, traders increasingly turned to crypto exchanges to gain exposure through 24/7 markets,” analysts stated.

Spot and Perpetual Trading Volumes Decline

As TradFi futures activity spikes, spot trading volume declines on centralized exchanges. This metric fell to $679 billion in April 2026, slumping to the lowest level since October 2023. This reflects a decline in activity, thanks to the bear market. Perpetual futures volumes declined alongside, with leverage appetite contracting. Notably, Binance, Bybit, Gate, and Crypto.com rank as the top platforms by cumulative spot volume so far in 2026.

Interestingly, Bitcoin liquidity has remained concentrated on a small group of exchanges, with Binance and Gate dominating spot market depth, while Gate, Hyperliquid, Binance, OKX, and Bitget lead perpetual futures liquidity.

Additionally, Gate leads institutional BTC activity, as seen in Bitcoin trade sizes on spot and futures markets. The exchange accounts for the highest average Bitcoin spot trade size ($4,000) after reaching a high of $6,200 per trade last year. For the perpetual futures market, Gate also leads with an average of $8,900, sustaining growth that started last year.