The cryptocurrency market in April 2026 is showing significant structural changes: more and more traders are favoring centralized exchanges (CEX), with Binance remaining the most prominent player and the main beneficiary of this trend.
This is reported by Finway
Binance’s Position in the Derivatives Market
According to CoinDesk’s March 2026 report, Binance maintains its leadership in several segments: the spot market, derivatives, and open interest. The exchange’s market share in the derivatives sector has exceeded 35% (specifically, 35.4%), and trading volume in this segment has reached a record $1.41 trillion. This is significantly higher than its closest competitors: OKX ($716 billion) and Gate ($480 billion).
In the spot market, Binance controls 21.3% of all transactions, while in open interest it holds 23.1% (for comparison: Bybit – 10.7%, Gate – 9.76%). Analysts emphasize that these figures reinforce Binance’s position as the most liquid and trusted platform in the market.
Growth of CEX and Changes in Market Trends
In March 2026, there is a steady increase in the share of centralized exchanges in the total trading volume of derivatives – up to 76.5%, which is the highest level since September 2023. In contrast, decentralized exchanges (DEX) have lost ground: their share in spot trading has fallen to 14.3%, and in derivatives to 14.9%.
According to analysts, this “reinforces its position as the most liquid and trusted platform in the industry.”
Open interest in the derivatives market has increased by 7.66% and reached $88.9 billion, with over 23% of this volume attributed to Binance.
Among other important trends is the convergence of the crypto market with traditional financial instruments (TradFi). In March 2026, gold entered the top five most popular derivatives assets on CEX for the first time, with a volume of $55.6 billion. Binance is actively introducing perpetual contracts for oil, gas, and metals, with over 60% of the trading volume in derivatives for traditional financial instruments occurring on this platform.
The company emphasizes that this indicates a gradual transition of macroeconomic assets from traditional markets into the crypto ecosystem, providing traders with broader access to liquidity and expanding their trading strategy options.