CryptoQuant Sees Volume Uptick as Another Bear-Market Fracture

August brought crypto exchange trading volume out of its bear-market rut. Spot turnover reached roughly $75 billion on August 21, while perpetual futures amounted to about $336 billion, according to CryptoQuant data.

The analytics firm interprets the surge as an early signal of a fresh bull phase, given that the jump came alongside a price increase rather than a wave of selling.

Spot Volume Returns With the Rally, Not the Sell-Off

August 21 marked the second-biggest spot session since February’s peak, halting a slide that had pushed activity to multi-year lows while exchange liquidity kept draining. Binance accounted for $19.4 billion of that figure, ahead of Coinbase at $8 billion and Gate at $5.1 billion.

What sets this spike apart from earlier ones in 2026 is its direction. Prior volume surges in 2026 took place during sell-offs, signaling exit demand rather than fresh purchases.

This one followed a different path. It occurred during a 25% rally in Bitcoin (BTC) and other major coins, which CryptoQuant views as proof of genuine buying.

The expansion was widespread too. The 30-day change in spot volume topped out around August 25 at 2026’s fastest pace, with Gate climbing 667%, Coinbase 429%, and OKX 213%. Binance and the long tail of smaller platforms grew by roughly 157% to 163%.

Leverage Returns, but Shorts Did Much of the Work

Leverage followed spot upward, with much larger sums involved. Daily volume hit about $336 billion on August 21, the highest since March, led by Binance at $124 billion, OKX at $46 billion, and MEXC at $30 billion.

Still, CryptoQuant sounded a caution. Most of that futures surge came from traders closing shorts or getting liquidated as prices climbed swiftly.

Futures growth was also broad-based. The 30-day change peaked around August 24 and 25, with Binance up 202% and Bybit up 184%. OKX, Coinbase, and Gate now post the fastest 30-day expansion at 407%, 378%, and 305%, respectively.

“The volume comeback may be another sign of the end of the bear-market downtrend and aligns with the early bullish phase now underway across the crypto market,” CryptoQuant said.

Prices have since retreated. Bitcoin traded near $77,424 on September 14, well below its level a year earlier. The weeks ahead will reveal whether August’s activity marked the start of a regime shift or just a fleeting burst of leverage.