Cryptocurrency exchanges showed a significant increase in trading volume in August. On August 21, the spot trading volume reached approximately $75 billion, while futures trading was around $336 billion, according to CryptoQuant data. This volume surge coincided with a price rally, which may indicate the beginning of a new bull cycle for the crypto market.
Spot trading on August 21 became one of the most active since February, ending a prolonged downtrend. On that day, Binance processed $19.4 billion, followed by Coinbase with $8 billion and Gate with $5.1 billion. This spike differed from previous ones in 2026: past peaks coincided with sell-offs and indicated exit demand rather than new purchases. The current surge coincided with a 25% rally in Bitcoin and other major coins, which CryptoQuant views as a sign of real buying. The growth was broad-based: the 30-day change in spot volume peaked around August 25, marking the highest rate in 2026. Gate increased by 667%, Coinbase by 429%, OKX by 213%, and Binance and smaller platforms by approximately 157–163%.
The futures volume on August 21 amounted to about $336 billion – the highest since March. Leading the pack were Binance ($124 billion), OKX ($46 billion), and MEXC ($30 billion). However, CryptoQuant noted that a large portion of this spike was due to traders closing shorts or being liquidated amid the rapid price increase. The 30-day change in futures volumes peaked on August 24–25: Binance +202%, Bybit +184%, while OKX, Coinbase, and Gate showed the fastest growth rates at 407%, 378%, and 305%, respectively.
"The return of volumes may be another sign of the end of the bear trend and corresponds to the early bull phase currently observed in the crypto market," noted CryptoQuant.
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