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 trading activity involving tokenized stocks occurred while US exchanges were closed.
At the same time, stablecoins are increasingly being used for purposes beyond just crypto trading. Their total supply stood at $311 billion at the end of the first half of the year, while monthly on-chain transfer volumes exceeded $1 trillion. Over the first half of the year, this volume reached $8.8 trillion. Spending via cryptocurrency cards rose to $629 million in June — а 35% increase compared to January.
This is according to an analytical report by Binance Research, published exclusively by LIGA.net
