The ongoing crypto rout has slashed overall trading activity by nearly half since the October 2025 crash. 

According to CryptoQuant, total crypto trading volume across centralized exchanges (CEXes) has declined by 48% to $4.3 trillion in March 2026. 

Notably, the October crash marked the local peak of activity at about $8.2 trillion, with CryptoQuant noting that the downtrend was ‘clear market cooling’ after the 2024 cycle peak.  

It’s at its lowest level since October 2024, indicating a clear cooling in market participation after the prior cycle’s peak.

Interestingly, perpetual trading has dominated CEX trading. Perpetuals (commonly called perps) allow traders to trade with leverage to amplify…