Crypto Markets Show Signs of Stabilization in May

Crypto markets have been experiencing a prolonged cooldown since the Q4 2025 peak, characterized by declining Spot, Futures, and Perp DEX volumes, as well as reduced CEX listing activity. In May, there were indications of stabilization across major trading segments.

Spot trading volume, which had been in decline since January, showed signs of holding steady at $952B in May, a flat month-over-month result compared to April's $951.8B. Binance maintained its position as the largest Spot exchange by volume but saw its market share slip from 26.5% to 25.2%, while other exchanges like OKX and Coinbase experienced ranking shifts.

Futures trading activity, which had been declining since October 2025, rebounded in May with a 4.4% increase month-over-month to $5.23T. However, this still represents a significant decline of approximately 52% compared to the peak volume seen in October 2025.

Perp DEX activity experienced its strongest recovery among all major trading segments, with a 14.7% month-over-month increase from $518B to $594B after six consecutive months of decline. This rebound was driven by a broader expansion of trading activity across the Perp DEX sector rather than a single platform.