Crypto exchanges are broadening their reach into traditional finance by offering perpetual futures linked to stocks, indexes, and commodities, as trading volumes tied to these assets surge.
Processing $1.32 trillion in perpetual futures tied to traditional assets during the first five months of 2026, exchanges such as Bitget and Binance have reported a marked increase in trading activity. Bitget’s stock-related trading volume now accounts for 28% of its total activity, reflecting a strategic shift in its business model. Gracy Chen, Bitget’s CEO, noted that a year ago, the firm’s trading volume was entirely crypto-focused, but the introduction of perpetual stock products has significantly altered this dynamic.
Binance has also adapted to the trend, adopting traditional finance products and extending trading hours to align with Wall Street schedules. Shunyet Jan, an executive at Binance, highlighted the migration of innovation from crypto to traditional finance, citing the growing appeal of perpetual futures across asset classes. Meanwhile, Coinbase, having secured investment-services authorization from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority under MiFID rules, is preparing to offer equities and derivatives in the U.K. alongside crypto.
The expansion has been supported by partnerships such as S&P Dow Jones Indices licensing its S&P 500 benchmark to Trade XYZ, which operates onchain perpetual futures on the Hyperliquid blockchain. CoinGecko’s analytics indicate that 360 traditional-asset perpetual futures and spot listings have been added between January 2025 and May 2026, with tokenized stock-perp volume rising from $831 million in July 2025 to $34 billion by May 2026.
Augie Ilag of CMT Digital observed that institutional investors face unique challenges on decentralized exchanges, including friction in access and execution, despite having existing brokerages and OTC desks. Keith Grose of Coinbase emphasized the firm’s ambition to become an “everything exchange,” with perpetual futures central to its strategy. However, uncertainties persist regarding the long-term adoption of decentralized exchanges by large funds, with unmet requirements for custody and clearing remaining barriers.
The growth in trading volumes has not yet clarified the division between institutional and retail users of perpetual futures, with no data available to distinguish their contributions. Analysts remain cautious about expectations that licensed centralized exchanges will attract institutional business, noting these are predictions rather than confirmed outcomes.
Written by Rebecca Shaw
Industry Desk
