Open interest in perpetual derivatives linked to traditional financial assets such as stocks, metals and oil has surged to about $2bn on major crypto exchanges, according to new data from CryptoQuant.
The research firm says so‐called “TradFi perpetuals” – contracts that track conventional markets but trade on crypto platforms – have more than doubled in size since late May, making them one of the fastest‐growing products on digital asset venues.
Perpetual contracts give traders continuous exposure to an underlying asset without a fixed expiry date. Instead, they rely on regular funding payments between long and short positions to keep prices close to the spot market. While they have long been a staple of crypto trading, exchanges are now deploying the same structure for instruments tied to metals, crude oil and equities.
Rapid growth from a small base
CryptoQuant’s figures show that open interest in TradFi perpetuals hovered in a range of roughly $350m to $500m through spring 2026. From late May, that total climbed sharply, breaking the $2bn mark by July.
The expansion is allowing crypto exchanges to compete more directly with established stock and commodity platforms. Because these venues operate around the clock, traders can take and adjust positions in assets linked to traditional markets even when those underlying exchanges are closed.
Despite the acceleration, the new segment remains modest compared with the broader crypto derivatives complex. CryptoQuant estimates that TradFi perpetuals account for only about 3% of the roughly $65bn currently tied up in cryptocurrency perpetual contracts.
Binance leads tightly concentrated market
The report highlights Binance as the dominant player in both TradFi and crypto perpetuals. In CryptoQuant’s main snapshot, Binance held around $720m of open interest in TradFi perpetuals – approximately 35% of that market.
Bybit and Gate were the next largest operators, each with about $381m in open interest. Combined, Binance, Bybit and Gate controlled close to 70% of TradFi perpetual positions. When OKX and Bitget were included, the top five exchanges accounted for roughly 93%, leaving a small share divided among lesser‐known platforms.
That concentration closely mirrors the structure of the crypto perpetual market itself. Binance’s share there was put at about $22.86bn, again around 35% of total open interest. Bybit followed with $9.67bn, with Gate on $8.61bn. Together, the three exchanges commanded around 63% of all crypto perpetual exposure, rising to about 81% when Bitget and OKX were added.
Crypto leverage eases after 2025 peak
CryptoQuant’s data suggests that overall crypto perpetual activity has grown dramatically over the past few years, even as more recent figures point to a pullback in leverage.
Aggregate open interest in crypto perpetuals has risen five‐ to six‐fold since early 2023, when it sat in a band between $12bn and $15bn. Capital committed to outstanding contracts climbed to around $80bn in September 2025 and returned to a similar level in early 2026.
Since then, the total has dropped by roughly 20% to about $65bn. CryptoQuant interprets that fall as evidence of deleveraging or money being withdrawn from the derivatives market, rather than a wave of new capital entering. That trend stands in contrast to the expansion of exchange products that track traditional assets.
For now, though, the roughly $2bn held in TradFi perpetuals is too small to offset swings in the much larger crypto perpetual market. Instead, the figures point to exchanges widening their product set while capital remains highly concentrated among the biggest operators.
US market edges towards perpetual structures
The report also notes that US investors are gaining access to similar instruments under a different regulatory framework.
Coinbase Financial Markets offers US customers CFTC‐regulated perpetual‐style futures which trade nearly around the clock. These contracts differ from offshore perpetuals: they run on five‐year terms but use funding payments designed to keep prices aligned with the spot market.
Regulators in the United States are also beginning to approve true perpetual structures. In May, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved Kalshi’s cash‐settled Bitcoin perpetual futures contract. It has no fixed expiration date and trades continuously, mirroring the perpetual model used offshore.
However, the CFTC stressed that its decision was made on a contract‐by‐contract basis and does not automatically extend to perpetual products linked to non‐crypto assets.
CryptoQuant concludes that demand for constant, uninterrupted trading is beginning to move beyond cryptocurrencies into traditional markets. Whether TradFi perpetuals grow into a more significant pool of exchange capital, it says, will hinge on liquidity, regulatory access and the willingness of traders to shift activity away from conventional venues.
