Spot volume in the crypto market has fallen sharply for months, while money flows on some exchanges have shifted towards stocks and Tokenize assets.
This development shows that the demand for trading hasn't disappeared, but is shifting from spot markets to other structured markets such as futures, perpetual markets, and real-world assets. For exchanges, this is a change worth watching as it directly impacts liquidation and operational structure.
- Monthly spot volume fell to approximately $679 billion, the lowest level since October 2023.
- Trading activity on some exchanges is gradually shifting towards stocks, futures, and perpetual contracts instead of spot trading.
- Tokenized equity and the RWA market are expanding and could become a larger part of the trading ecosystem.
Spot volume fell to its lowest level in nearly two years.
Spot crypto volume fell to around $679 billion in April, the lowest since October 2023. Prior to that, the market peaked at nearly $2 trillion in October 2025.
The prolonged decline indicates a significant weakening in demand for spot assets. Instead of holding spot positions, many traders are tending to seek instruments that allow for more flexible Capital management.
Cash flow shifts towards futures and perpetual contracts.
Futures and perpetuals are attracting much more attention than Spot Trading. In these markets, traders can maintain exposure to price without holding the spot asset.
This shift is often accompanied by thinner spot liquidation , even though overall market activity remains. In other words, traders haven't left the market but are switching to a more leveraged and flexible trading model.
Stock activity on Gate increased in the opposite direction.
While spot crypto activity slowed, trading volume on Gate surged, reaching approximately $30 million per day on June 1st and 2nd. This was the second-highest level in the past three months.
Circle and NVIDIA were the two tokens that attracted the most transactions. This development suggests that some trading demand is shifting towards traditional assets offered on crypto-native platforms.
Tokenized assets and the RWA market are expanding.
Tokenized equity has grown to approximately $3.57 billion, while the Real World Assets (RWA) market as a whole has expanded to around $30 billion. This is a growing segment within the trading ecosystem.
Unlike pure crypto trading, RWAs can attract demand from stocks, bonds, and other financial assets. If this trend continues, tokenized assets could play a larger Vai in the liquidation and revenue structure of exchanges.
Summary
The spot crypto market is weakening, but trading demand is shifting to futures, stocks, and Tokenize assets. For exchanges and market participants, this shift is more significant than the decrease in spot Volume itself.
