Hyperliquid emerged as one of the growing exchanges in February. For the previous month, centralized markets saw an outflow of activity, affecting Binance with a 16% outflow of volumes.
Hyperliquid accounted for some of the trading volume in February, while centralized exchanges slowed. Overall trading activity declined by 11.5%, with the biggest outflows on the spot market.
Derivative activity contracted by only 0.7% in February, as volumes and open interest were already lowered following last October’s market crash.
Hyperliquid expanded its activity by 24%
Hyperliquid expanded its activity by 24%, extending a trend in which activity shifted to perpetual futures DEXs. For February, Hyperliquid was the top exchange by monthly growth, followed by Gate with 20% expansion, and Deribit with 16%, according to recent research.
MEXC lost 43% of its derivative volume, while HTX and Bitget declined by 6%. For derivative trading, the expansion and shift to other markets offset the decline in previously hot venues. MEXC declined after a series of social media attacks. As Cryptopolitan reported, users claimed some of their funds were being held by the exchange, further fueling fear and distrust.
Spot exchanges marked the most significant decline. Uniswap declined by 64%, HTX lost 37% of volumes, while Binance declined by 16%. Spot markets accounted for only a fraction of derivative trading, with a total of $830B compared with $3.38T for derivatives.
The recent decline extended the five-month streak of lower CEX volumes, reflecting some of the worst consecutive months in the crypto market. The decline followed consecutive net declines in the BTC price, resulting in monthly losses in January and February for the first time in history.
Trading shifted to Bitfinex, up 12.5%, OKX expanded its activity by 8.4%, and Coinbase added 5.1%. Coinbase also afforded a small BTC premium, signaling a tentative return of US-based buyers.
Binance maintains the deepest market depth across most markets, serving as a signal for retail and whale activity. The exchange was still the leader, with over $341B in trading volume in February, down from over $400B in January.
Coinbase came in second with $64B in trading volume in February, up from $61B in January.
Web traffic to exchanges declined in February
Web traffic to the top exchange sites contracted by 8.8% in February compared to January 2026. Activity increased on Upbit (+21%) and Bitfinex.
HTX declined by 36%, while Crypto.com saw a 30% outflow of visitors. 20% fewer traders visited Kraken. The recent outflow follows weakened altcoin sentiment, as well as a shift to DeFi lending, stablecoin yield or holding, and prediction market activity.
Some of the traffic shifted to prediction platforms, which took over some of the roles of centralized markets. While fees and on-chain usage remain robust, the current market shows a decline in enthusiasm among traders, who are seeking alternative markets and liquidity sources.
