Crypto derivatives volume surges to $86T in 2025, averaging $265B daily

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Crypto derivatives volume explode to $86T in 2025, averaging $265B per day Original Link: Cryptocurrency derivatives trading volume surged to almost $85.7 trillion in 2025, averaging about $264.5 billion a day, according to a report by liquidation data tracker CoinGlass.

A certain head exchange led the market with roughly $25.09 trillion in cumulative derivatives volume, or about 29.3% of global trading, meaning nearly $30 of every $100 traded ran through the exchange, CoinGlass said.

Several other major exchanges followed, each posting $8.2 trillion to $10.8 trillion in yearly volume. These four exchanges accounted for about 62.3% of total market share.

CoinGlass said institutional pathways expanded through spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and compliant futures, helping drive a structural rise for Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which had already overtaken certain exchanges in Bitcoin (BTC) futures open interest in 2024 and consolidated its footing in 2025.

Derivatives grow in complexity

CoinGlass said that derivatives also grew in complexity in 2025. The market moved away from a retail-led, high-leverage boom-and-bust model toward a mix of institutional hedging, basis trading and ETFs.

This shift came with a cost, as deeper leverage chains and more interconnected positioning increased “tail risks.”

“Extreme events that erupted during 2025 imposed stress tests of unprecedented scale on existing margin mechanisms, liquidation rules, and cross-platform risk transmission pathways,” the report said.

Global crypto derivatives open interest sank to a yearly low of about $87 billion after deleveraging in the first quarter, then surged through the middle of the year to a record $235.9 billion on Oct. 7.

A sharp reset in early Q4 erased more than $70 billion in positions, roughly one-third of total open interest, in a flash deleveraging event. Even after that shakeout, year-end open interest of $145.1 billion still marked a 17% increase from the start of the year.

October’s liquidation shock exposed plumbing risks

The biggest stress test of the year hit in early October. CoinGlass estimated total forced liquidations in 2025 at about $150 billion, but a big chunk of the damage came during Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, when liquidations topped $19 billion. Most of the wipeout was on the long side, with 85%–90% of liquidations coming from traders betting on higher prices.

CoinGlass linked the crash to market announcements regarding trade policies that pushed markets into “risk-off” sentiment during that period.