2026-01-13 06:32:10

The growth of the spot trading market in 2025 has become a foregone conclusion. Data shows that the annual growth rate of spot trading volume is only 9%, while the perpetual contract market has bucked the trend and surged, with an increase of 29%. What does this divergence reflect? The popularity of leveraged trading clearly exceeds that of spot trading.

Market concentration remains high. The top trading platforms account for about 41% of spot trading volume, and stablecoin reserves are even more concentrated—USDT and USDC reserves total over $47.6 billion. Liquidity is increasingly consolidating around a few platforms, putting significant pressure on small and medium exchanges.

From derivatives to spot trading, and looking at stablecoin distribution, the trend of market structure concentration is becoming more evident.

USDC0,03%

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FUDwatcher

· 14m ago

Perpetual contracts are rising much faster than spot, indicating that some people are still gambling... Truly exciting. --- With such high concentration, how can small and medium exchanges survive... The signs are already evident. --- A 9% growth rate? Is the spot market completely cooling down or what? --- The concentration of stablecoins is so terrifying that once something goes wrong, it’s all over. --- 41% share held by the top players, how will the remaining platforms compete? --- The booming contract market shows everyone is rushing... The spot market is sleeping. --- USDT and USDC together total 47.6 billion, the level of monopoly is a bit outrageous. --- Leverage hype is crushing the spot market, it sounds extremely risky. --- It feels like small exchanges are being squeezed to death, this market is becoming more and more distorted. --- The market segmentation is so severe, is it institutions moving volume or is there really no heat anymore?

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FundingMartyr

· 16h ago

Perpetual contracts up 29%, while spot is only 9%, the gap is huge... Basically, it's still mostly gamblers. That's how the crypto world is—top players eat the meat, small exchanges drink the soup. The concentration of 476 billion stablecoins is really quite alarming. The Matthew effect is becoming more and more obvious; the days of small and medium exchanges are getting tougher and tougher. Spot trading is not that interesting; contracts are the real love, haha. USDT and USDC call the shots; no one really wants other stablecoins. Centralization has gone a bit too far; if this trend continues, small platforms won't last much longer.

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HashBandit

· 01-13 06:56

ngl, spot trading doing 9% while perps ripping 29%... this is exactly why tps bottlenecks kill adoption. back in my mining days we'd call this a red flag for centralization, not bullish momentum lol

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gas_fee_therapy

· 01-13 06:52

Leverage traders are really increasing, no one wants spot trading anymore --- It's not surprising that the concentration is so high; how can small exchanges compete with big players? --- USDT and USDC have hijacked the entire market liquidity, so dull --- Perpetual contracts are rising so fast? Another round of liquidation drama, huh --- Basically, there are more gamblers, and spot trading is boring --- Small exchanges are increasingly losing their viability; liquidity has been drained --- A 41% share is really outrageous; leading platforms call the shots --- This is the Matthew Effect; the strong get stronger --- Stablecoins are concentrated in the hands of two companies, which is a bit dangerous

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MEVHunterNoLoss

· 01-13 06:44

Perpetual contracts are growing at a much faster rate than spot, indicating that everyone is betting on the direction. Truly value investors are becoming fewer and fewer. --- Top exchanges are taking half of the traffic. How can small and medium exchanges survive... This is capital centralization. --- 476 billion stablecoins are locked on a few platforms. The risk accumulation points are too obvious. But who cares, right? --- 9% growth rate? Nobody wants spot anymore; leverage in contracts is the real boss. --- It's another concentration topic, but honestly, this is the reality. The strong get stronger, the weak are eliminated. That's just the game rules. --- Looking at these data points is frustrating. Why are perpetual contracts so lucrative? Because they are stimulating... --- Stablecoin reserves are highly concentrated? Sounds like a ticking time bomb.

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RugPullAlarm

· 01-13 06:34

Spot 9% Contract 29%, this gap... it's another wave of retail traders collectively betting on leverage. USDT + USDC totaling 47.6 billion concentrated in top exchanges. I've been monitoring these wallet addresses for a long time. Such high capital concentration means liquidity risk is entirely in the hands of a few whales. Small and medium exchanges should be worried. The top 41% share is essentially exploiting the entire ecosystem. This pyramid structure will eventually collapse, leading to another wave of withdrawals.

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