In the first half of 2026, crypto exchanges increasingly moved away from their role as mere platforms for trading digital assets. They are transforming into comprehensive financial platforms where users can not only buy cryptocurrency but also make payments, invest in stocks, trade tokenized securities, and enter into contracts linked to traditional assets.

Traditional assets saw the most significant growth. By the end of July, the total trading volume of perpetual contracts on stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), commodities, and other traditional instruments exceeded $1.6 trillion. Furthermore, 62% of July’s…