SINGAPORE, Jan 15, 2026, 08:44 SGT
- According to CoinDesk Data, Binance’s slice of the global spot crypto trading market fell to its lowest point since early 2021.
- A CoinDesk Data report highlighted a steep decline in Binance spot volumes in December, coinciding with a wider slump across centralized exchange activity.
- CZ pointed out that X and Binance Square operate on different “fundamentals” and raised doubts about whether X would implement KYC checks if it launched crypto trading.
Binance’s global spot crypto trading share dropped to 25% in December, marking its lowest point since January 2021, according to CoinDesk Data. The exchange held 28.5% in November and peaked close to 60% in 2023, Bloomberg reported. 1
This shift is crucial since spot trading — the buying and selling of tokens for immediate settlement — directly shows where liquidity actually lives. When that flow splinters, exchanges lose their grip on pricing, fee income becomes tougher to sustain, and the market’s so-called “default venue” begins to lose its default status.
Crypto trading is pushing into fresh areas of the internet just as regulators ramp up identity checks. Larger platforms, in particular, face growing pressure to verify exactly who they’re dealing with on the other side of each trade.
According to CoinDesk Data, trading on centralized exchanges hit its lowest point since October 2024, with total spot and derivatives volumes sliding 26.4% to $5.79 trillion. Binance’s spot volume tumbled 38.8% to $367 billion. Meanwhile, HTX led gains in the spot market share for 2025, climbing 2.99 percentage points to 5.27%, the report summary revealed. 2
Jacob Joseph, research analyst at CoinDesk Data, described the move away from Binance as “less like a temporary swing and more like a broader shift in market structure,” Benzinga reported. The outlet highlighted offshore platforms like Bybit, HTX, and Gate.io gaining traction. It also noted rising competition from on-chain derivatives players such as Hyperliquid. 3
During a Binance Square AMA livestream, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao highlighted the different “fundamentals” underpinning social media sites like X compared to Binance Square. He raised doubts about whether X would implement know-your-client (KYC) checks—required under anti-money-laundering regulations—if it launched crypto trading. Zhao noted that most Binance Square users have already completed KYC. 4
Binance still leads as the world’s biggest crypto exchange by most metrics, though one month rarely defines the market’s direction. That said, December’s data aligns with a larger pattern: traders are increasingly spreading orders across multiple platforms, with a noticeable move toward on-chain trading where transactions finalize on public blockchains instead of within an exchange’s internal ledger.
U.S.-listed firms like Coinbase feel the pressure from offshore competitors as the landscape shifts. It’s no longer just a battle between “regulated versus unregulated.” Instead, the market is fragmenting based on product offerings, friction points, and distribution channels — and these dynamics evolve rapidly.
Numbers can shift rapidly, often swinging both ways. Market share fluctuates with volatility, fee adjustments, new listings, outages, or sudden spikes in a few tokens. On-chain platforms carry additional risks, including smart-contract flaws and abrupt regulatory crackdowns.
December’s data shows Binance grappling with challenges on several fronts: competitors emerging as viable alternatives, and intensifying debates over just how deeply crypto trading can embed itself in mainstream platforms before compliance issues catch up.
