TradFi perpetuals hit $2B as crypto exchanges push into stocks, oil

Open interest in perpetual contracts tied to stocks, metals and crude oil has doubled since late May, reaching $2 billion as major crypto exchanges expand beyond digital assets, CryptoQuant reported.

TradFi perpetuals have become one of the fastest-growing product lines on crypto venues. The contracts give traders continuous exposure to traditional markets – equities, metals, energy – without a fixed expiry date. Regular funding payments keep prices close to the underlying spot market.

Open interest in these products sat between $350 million and $500 million through spring. It then rose sharply from late May, crossing $2 billion by July, according to the report.

The growth lets crypto exchanges compete more directly with traditional brokers. Crypto venues offer round-the-clock trading, including hours when conventional stock and commodity markets are closed.

Despite the surge, TradFi perpetuals remain small next to crypto derivatives. CryptoQuant estimated the segment at roughly 3% of the $65 billion held in cryptocurrency perpetual contracts.

Binance holds the largest share in both categories, showing how established crypto exchanges are using their liquidity and infrastructure to enter traditional asset markets. CryptoQuant’s headline snapshot pegged Binance’s TradFi perpetual open interest at about $720 million, or 35% of the market. Bybit and Gate followed at roughly $381 million each.

Those three exchanges accounted for about 70% of TradFi perpetual open interest. Adding OKX and Bitget brought the top five’s share to around 93%, leaving the rest spread across smaller venues.

The concentration mirrors the crypto perpetual market’s structure. Binance held about $22.86 billion, or 35%, of crypto perpetual open interest in the same snapshot. Bybit followed with $9.67 billion, while Gate held $8.61 billion. Those three platforms controlled roughly 63% of crypto perpetual open interest. The five largest exchanges, including Bitget and OKX, accounted for about 81%.

Aggregate crypto perpetual open interest has expanded five to six times since early 2023, when it stood near $12 billion to $15 billion. Capital in outstanding contracts reached about $80 billion in September 2025 and returned to a similar level in early 2026. It has since fallen by roughly 20% to around $65 billion.

CryptoQuant interpreted the decline as evidence of deleveraging or capital withdrawals rather than fresh money entering the crypto derivatives market. The fall contrasts with the growth in products tracking traditional assets.

The $2 billion TradFi segment is not large enough to offset changes in the broader crypto perpetual market. Its expansion instead shows exchanges adding new markets while retaining the same capital concentration among the largest operators.

US investors are gaining access to similar products under a different regulatory structure. Coinbase Financial Markets offers CFTC-regulated perpetual-style futures that trade nearly around the clock. Unlike offshore perpetuals with no expiry, Coinbase’s contracts have five-year terms and use funding payments to stay aligned with spot prices.

The US market is also moving toward true perpetual contracts. In May, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved Kalshi’s cash-settled Bitcoin perpetual futures contract, which has no fixed expiration date and trades continuously. The regulator said its assessment applies on a contract-by-contract basis and does not automatically cover perpetuals tied to non-crypto assets.

CryptoQuant’s findings suggest demand for continuous trading is spreading beyond cryptocurrencies. Whether TradFi perpetuals become a larger source of exchange capital will depend on liquidity growth, regulatory access, and whether traders continue moving activity from conventional venues.