Trading volume has been cut in half, but the amount per transaction has skyrocketed, indicating that those still active are all algorithm-driven sharks, and retail investors can't even make a splash. The path of traditional finance is advancing much faster than I imagined.

According to a CryptoQuant report, driven by weakening market conditions and a decline in retail participation, the spot trading volume of global centralized cryptocurrency exchanges fell to $67.9 billion in April this year, setting a new monthly low since October 2023. This represents a sharp 67% contraction from the market peak in October 2025, and a 46% year-over-year decline. Against this backdrop, professional quantitative trading teams, market makers, and institutional arbitrageurs are becoming the main forces in the market, continuously pushing up the average trade size. In addition, major mainstream crypto exchanges are accelerating their penetration into the traditional finance (TradFi) sector: the trading volume of macro traditional finance perpetual contracts is projected to see explosive growth in 2026, and reached a peak of about $450 billion per month in March this year. (CryptoSlate)