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CME Crypto Trading Volume Slumped to 2-Year Low in December
Poor market sentiment and an extreme lack of volatility were the likely culprits behind the declines.
Updated May 9, 2023, 4:05 a.m. Published Jan 5, 2023, 5:51 p.m.
Derivatives giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) crypto-related trading volumes suffered a steep falloff in the last month of 2022.
Total crypto derivatives volume plunged 49.2% to $14.2 billion, according to CryptoCompare, the weakest since October 2020. Bitcoin futures volume was down 48.3% to $13.2 billion, with ether futures volume off 55.3% to $481 million.
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The slump was in line with spot trading volumes across the industry, according to the report. That amount fell 48.4% to $544 billion, the lowest figure since December 2019.
“[The fall] coincides with the loss of users’ trust in centralized exchanges following the collapse of FTX in November, leading investors to take a cautious stance amid concerns over further contagion," the report's authors wrote.
Also at issue was a startling lack of volatility, with bitcoin (BTC) essentially flatlining during most of the month in the mid-$16,000 area.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
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- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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