Open interest in perpetual contracts tied to stocks, metals and oil on crypto exchanges has more than doubled to over $2 billion since late May, CryptoQuant reported. Binance, Bybit and Gate control about 70% of the segment. Crypto perpetual open interest, by contrast, stands near $65 billion — around 20% below its previous peaks.
Major crypto exchanges are expanding beyond digital assets. Open interest in TradFi perpetual contracts has more than doubled to over $2 billion since late May, according to CryptoQuant, making the products one of the fastest-growing areas of the crypto exchange market.
The contracts give traders continuous exposure to traditional assets, including metals, crude oil and equities. Unlike standard futures, perpetual contracts have no fixed expiry date and use regular funding payments to keep their prices close to the underlying market.
Growth took off in late May
Open interest in these products remained between roughly $350 million and $500 million during spring 2026, then rose sharply from late May and crossed $2 billion by July. The increase allows crypto exchanges to compete more directly with traditional trading platforms, because crypto venues can offer the contracts around the clock, including during hours when conventional stock and commodity markets are closed.
Despite that growth, the segment stays small next to crypto derivatives. CryptoQuant estimated TradFi perpetuals represent only around 3% of the roughly $65 billion held in cryptocurrency perpetual contracts.
Binance leads both books
Binance holds the largest share of open interest in both categories. CryptoQuant's headline snapshot placed its TradFi perpetual open interest at around $720 million, equal to roughly 35% of the market, with Bybit and Gate following at about $381 million each.
Together, the three exchanges accounted for around 70% of TradFi perpetual open interest, and adding OKX and Bitget brought the top five's share to approximately 93%. The crypto perpetual market mirrors that structure: Binance held about $22.86 billion, or 35%, in the report's main snapshot, followed by Bybit at $9.67 billion and Gate at $8.61 billion.
Crypto perpetuals sit below their peaks
Aggregate crypto perpetual open interest has expanded five to six times since early 2023, when it stood near $12 billion to $15 billion. Capital in outstanding contracts reached about $80 billion in September 2025 and returned to a similar level in early 2026, then fell by roughly 20% to around $65 billion.
CryptoQuant interpreted the decline as evidence of deleveraging or capital withdrawals rather than fresh money entering the crypto derivatives market. However, the $2 billion TradFi segment is not yet large enough to offset changes in the broader crypto perpetual market.
US contracts follow a regulated path
US investors are gaining access to similar products under a different regulatory structure. Coinbase Financial Markets offers US customers CFTC-regulated perpetual-style futures that trade nearly around the clock, though those contracts carry five-year terms rather than no expiry.
In May, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved Kalshi's cash-settled Bitcoin perpetual futures contract, which has no fixed expiration date and trades continuously. The regulator said its assessment applies on a contract-by-contract basis and does not automatically cover perpetuals tied to non-crypto assets.
Source: crypto.news
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