cex

May 2026: CEX spot volume hit a 25-month low of $951.8B in April. Binance holds the #1 spot at ~26.5% market share — down sharply from ~39% in early 2025. The derivatives battle is tighter: Binance commands ~54% of tracked 24h derivatives volume, while OKX ($24B), MEXC ($20B), Weex ($15B), and Bybit ($15B) form a competitive mid-tier. Open interest — the clearest measure of market conviction — is concentrated in five exchanges: Binance, Bybit, Gate, MEXC, and Weex collectively hold >97% of tracked OI. Note the key divergence: Bybit and Gate punch far above their spot rank in OI, while MEXC and Weex dominate derivatives with comparatively thin spot presence. On-chain perps (led by Hyperliquid) and regulated CME channels are increasingly competing for the same demand.

Daily trading activity by exchange. Binance's structural dominance persists in spot markets, but the gap is narrowing. February 2026 saw the weakest combined CEX month since October 2024 as Bitcoin traded range-bound. The derivatives chart reveals an even more fragmented race: OKX peaked at 18.3% derivatives market share in February (its highest since July 2025), Gate hit an all-time high of 12.2%, and Binance's market share dipped to its lowest since October 2020.

Snapshot of 24h volume as of today. The spot and derivatives leaderboards diverge materially: Kraken is a top-10 spot exchange but nearly absent from derivatives. Pionex and Tapbit are top-5 by spot volume but have no significant derivatives presence. MEXC and Weex rank far higher in derivatives than spot — signaling aggressive perp product growth. Bitmart is unexpectedly high in spot volume, likely driven by token listing activity.

Open interest (OI) measures total unsettled futures/perpetuals contracts — a proxy for speculative and hedging conviction. Binance's $25.5B OI is 2× Bybit's $11.5B, but Bybit, Gate ($11B), and MEXC ($9.5B) are demonstrating strong capital retention. Weex stands out: $8.1B OI against $15.4B daily derivatives volume implies an unusually high OI/volume ratio (~0.53×), suggesting sticky longer-duration positions rather than day-trading flow. Compare that to Binance's ratio (~0.47×) or OKX (~0.32×). High OI/volume = users holding positions, not just churning.