According to the latest on-chain data, the crypto derivatives market posted its lowest trading volumes of 2025 in December. This downturn in activity reflects the shift in investors’ risk appetite, especially with prices remaining down in the last few months of the year.
Low Market Activity Signals Rising Risk Aversion: AnalystUsing a chart showing the trading volumes of the top 10 coins aggregated across several major exchanges, Darkfost highlighted a broad decline in liquidity. The broad nature of this liquidity decline confirms that the low trading volume trend is spread across the entire derivatives market.
A similar trend of liquidity decline can be seen across other major exchanges. For instance, OKX recorded only $581 billion in trading volume, while Bybit was limited to $421 billion. “These levels further confirm a significant liquidity contraction in the derivatives markets, mechanically reducing risk appetite and the use of leverage,” Darkfost added.
Furthermore, the crypto analyst noted that this fall in trading volume shows how investors behave in an unfavorable market condition.
Darkfost said:
The increase in liquidations, combined with a period of heightened market uncertainty and unclear directionality, has reinforced risk aversion. In such conditions, market participants clearly prioritize capital preservation over performance.
Total Crypto Market Capitalization At $3.17 TrillionAs of this writing, the total cryptocurrency market stands at about $3.17 trillion, reflecting a 0.3% jump in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
