The Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, Bitget, has experienced a remarkable increase in institutional participation, with institutional traders now contributing approximately 80% of total trading volume as of September. This significant shift was documented in a report released by Bitget in partnership with blockchain analytics firm Nansen.
The analysis highlighted that institutional trading activity on Bitget’s spot markets escalated from 39.4% of total volume at the beginning of the year to 72.6% by the end of July. Futures trading displayed an even more substantial transformation, with institutional market makers’ involvement rising from a mere 3% at the start of the year to 56.6% as of late July.
Liquidity emerged as a critical indicator of institutional adoption in the cryptocurrency arena, with Bitget’s order-book depth, spreads, and execution quality reportedly aligning with industry leaders, such as Binance and OKX, across key trading pairs. In the context of financial markets, liquidity is defined by the speed and ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without significantly impacting its price.
Institutional inflows into Bitget have been notably supported by investments from firms like Laser Digital and Fenbushi Capital, which accounted for a large portion of positive net flows into the exchange, according to on-chain data from Nansen. Throughout the first half of the year, Bitget maintained an average monthly trading volume of around $750 billion, with derivatives making up about 90% of this figure. Institutions represent nearly half of all derivatives activity on the platform.
In a comparative landscape, Binance, which holds the title of the world’s largest centralized crypto exchange, recorded its spot trading volume jumping to $698.3 billion in July, a considerable increase from $432.6 billion in June—marking a 61% month-over-month growth, as reported by Coingecko.
As the surge in institutional adoption of cryptocurrency continues throughout 2025, crypto exchanges are intensifying their efforts to capture market share through innovative strategies. For instance, in January, Crypto.com launched a specialized institutional trading platform, boasting over 300 trading pairs and accommodating advanced trading techniques specifically designed for institutional investors.
Moreover, in September, Binance introduced a “crypto-as-a-service” platform aimed at licensed banks, stock exchanges, and brokerages, facilitating direct access to its extensive liquidity, futures, and custody services for traditional financial institutions. Additionally, OKX announced a partnership with Standard Chartered in October to initiate a collateral-mirroring program within the European Economic Area, allowing institutional clients to store their cryptocurrency assets directly through Standard Chartered’s custody service.
