Crypto derivatives emerged as a major growth area in 2025, with trading shifting toward perpetual futures and options, Coinbase Institutional noted in its 2026 outlook.
Decentralized exchanges led this move, as monthly on-chain perpetual futures volumes topped $1.2 trillion by year-end. Platforms like Hyperliquid dominated activity, showing that deep liquidity and strong execution have expanded beyond centralized exchanges.
Source: X
The development of perpetual contracts was not an accident. The spot market for alternative coins was stagnant for quite a long period, so it was impossible to experience large gains. Therefore, most traders turned to using contracts that allowed trading with much leverage around the clock.
Perpetual contracts enabled traders to trade with high leverage using only a small amount of money. This led to large possible profits, but so were the risks.
According to the data from the Coinbase Institutional, the speculative exposure without hedging started to rise to about 10% of its total value in 2025.
However, the market plummeted in the month of October due to the series of liquidation events in various positions which have high leverage. This led to a drop in the level of the speculative exposure to about 4%.
Source: X
From Trading Tools to DeFi Building Blocks
Leverage trading was useful in this regard. However, perpetual contracts are no longer just a form of gambling. Instead, they’re becoming a part of decentralized finance. This development also indicates that perps are no longer viewed as simple derivatives but as reusable building blocks.
Perpetual contracts for futures can be utilized for exposure hedge management within liquidity pools or be leveraged for structuring products related to funding rates.
In lending markets, perpetuals can be used for collateral management, whereby positions can be set up as collateral for lending, and risk levels can be configurable.
Also Read: Michael Selig Sparks Hope for CFTC’s Crypto Regulation in 2025
Equity Perpetual Futures Emerge as Crypto’s Next Big Trend
In terms of upcoming trends, the report identifies equity perpetual futures as a large trend on the horizon. The more people investing in U.S. stocks worldwide, the more likely a tokenized stock could appeal to traders seeking easy and accessible access to markets.
Equity perps allow traders to leverage the flexibility and availability of cryptocurrencies while investing in established markets such as tech stocks or overall indexes.
These products might revolutionize the way international traders access stock markets, particularly during market closures. Weekends and overnight markets are normally closed in conventional finance, but equity perpetuities might fill the gap here.
Also Read: Arizona Files New Legislation to Remove Crypto From State and Local Taxes
