"The cryptocurrency derivatives market is being restructured from individual speculation to an institutional-focused financial infrastructure."

This year, analysis suggests that the cryptocurrency derivatives market has shifted from a highly leveraged speculative market dominated by individual investors to a sophisticated financial infrastructure driven by institutional capital.





On the 26th, on-chain data analysis firm Coinglass, in its "2025 Virtual Currency Derivatives Market Annual Report," defined this year as a structural watershed, marking the deeper integration of virtual currencies into the mainstream financial system. While the market was previously driven by highly leveraged speculation by individual investors, this year's market structure has been transformed by the massive influx of traditional financial capital through Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and regulated futures products.



This shift is also reflected in the Open Interest (OI) indicator, which represents actual funds locked up. According to the report, Binance's cumulative derivatives trading volume this year reached $25.9 trillion, representing 29.3% of the total trading volume in the global cryptocurrency derivatives market.

However, in terms of open interest, where long-term funds reside and are used for risk management, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), an established exchange, stands out. CME's open interest reached a record high of $31.3 billion (approximately KRW 45.313 trillion) in the third quarter of this year. Last year, CME surpassed Binance to become the global leader in Bitcoin futures open interest. This year, it solidified its dominance in the Ethereum derivatives market, approaching Binance's retail trading volume for the first time in both open interest and trading volume.

This suggests that, unlike individual investors who rely heavily on short-term trading, institutional investors are depositing large amounts of capital in derivatives markets for hedging (risk diversification) and basis trading, taking advantage of the difference between spot and futures prices. The report analyzed that Binance primarily handles individual investor-focused trading, while CME serves as infrastructure housing large amounts of capital from traditional financial institutions. The analysis suggests that the introduction of Bitcoin spot ETF options and the passage of the Genius Act, a US stablecoin regulation bill, have eased regulatory uncertainty, accelerating institutional entry into the cryptocurrency market.

Institutional participation wasn't limited to Bitcoin (BTC). In the third quarter of this year, Ethereum (ETH) futures' average daily trading volume (ADV) increased by 355% year-over-year, outpacing BTC's growth. Solana (SOL) futures, launched in March, also saw rapid growth, with open interest exceeding $2.1 billion in September on the CME. This suggests that institutional investors are beginning to secure hedging tools beyond BTC, extending to major altcoins, through regulated exchanges.

Another key change highlighted was the evolution of blockchain technology into infrastructure for storing real-world assets. In particular, the real-world asset (RWA) market, which tokenizes US stocks and Treasury bonds, has seen explosive growth. According to TokenTerminal data cited in the report, the market capitalization of tokenized stocks has grown a record 2,695% this year. Equity contract trading volume on the global exchange Bitget also surged by 4,468% quarter-on-quarter in Q3, demonstrating the rapid blurring of boundaries between traditional financial assets and virtual assets.

However, Coinglass cautioned that such institutionalization does not automatically guarantee market stability. A prime example is the case of macroeconomic shocks like the US tariff policy on October 10th, which resulted in the liquidation of up to $40 billion worth of long positions in a single day. Coinglass assessed that "BTC still retains the characteristics of a high-beta asset that is sensitive to changes in liquidity."

He continued, "In 2026, the global regulatory framework is expected to rapidly converge, and the liquidity environment is likely to reach a turning point." He predicted, "Market competitiveness will depend on whether the trading infrastructure can maintain liquidation resilience even in a dense leverage structure, and whether the path for efficient capital circulation between the regulatory compliance and decentralization areas can be secured."

Reporter Do Ye-ri