Crypto platform Bullish (BLSH), which operates an institutional-only crypto exchange business, climbed into the top three centralized crypto exchanges by spot trading volume for the first time in February, overtaking Coinbase (COIN) as trading activity across the industry slowed, according to CoinDesk Data’s February Exchange Review.
Spot trading volumes on Bullish, which is the parent company of CoinDesk, rose 62.6% month over month to $76 billion, the exchange’s highest monthly total since October 2025. The surge lifted Bullish’s market share to 5.06%, up 2.04 percentage points, making it the third-largest centralized exchange by spot trading volume.
The increase pushed Bullish, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange last year, ahead of Coinbase (COIN), which held a 4.59% share of the spot market during the month.
The milestone comes even as overall activity on centralized exchanges declined. Combined spot and derivatives trading volumes fell 2.41% in February to $5.61 trillion, the lowest level recorded since October 2024, the report said.
The slowdown coincided with subdued volatility in major cryptocurrencies. Despite heavy volatility in the first and last weeks of February, bitcoin BTC$70,711.92 spent much of the month trading in a narrow range between $60,000 and $70,000, limiting speculative activity that often drives higher trading volumes.
Spot trading accounted for $1.50 trillion of that total, down 3.01% from January. Derivatives trading fell 2.41% to $4.11 trillion but remained the dominant force, accounting for 73.2% of all trading on centralized exchanges, the report said.
While Binance remained the dominant exchange by a wide margin, recording $331 billion in spot trading volume during February, which represents about 22% market share, its dominance declined to its lowest monthly level since October 2020, suggesting trading activity is becoming more distributed across competing platforms.
Bullish’s rise in the rankings highlights shifting dynamics among centralized exchanges amid intensifying competition. Exchanges are increasingly competing on liquidity, trading incentives, and new product offerings to attract traders during periods of slower market activity. Some have partnered with major U.S. stock exchanges to offer tokenized securities or have launched prediction market trading.
