Crypto derivatives activity picked up sharply in 2025 as traders increasingly turned to onchain perpetual futures, according to Coinbase researcher David Duong. By late in the year, decentralized exchanges were processing more than $1 trillion in monthly perpetual futures volume, underscoring the growing role of onchain derivatives markets.
In a post published Monday on X, Duong said the trend was driven in part by the absence of a traditional altcoin season, which led traders to seek higher returns through leverage rather than spot markets. He added…
