Trading activity picked up across major crypto venues in August 2026, with spot markets leading the rebound. According to data cited by MarsBit, spot volume on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) rose 18.64% from July, while perpetual futures volume increased 10.89% over the same period. The larger gain in spot volume suggests the recovery in market activity was driven more by spot demand than by derivatives trading.
Traffic indicators moved in the opposite direction. Website visits for major CEXs slipped 0.26% month over month in August, and downloads fell 5.61%. MarsBit said the divergence between rising trading volume and weaker external traffic may indicate that the latest pickup came more from higher trading frequency and better conversion among existing users, rather than a broad influx of new users or outside traffic.
In decentralized derivatives markets, perpetual volume on major Perp DEXs climbed 8.98% from July, while website traffic showed no clear increase or decrease. MarsBit also noted that some of the data may carry significant risks of wash trading or bot activity. Spot and derivatives figures were sourced from CoinGecko, traffic data from Similarweb, and download data from Diandian.
Spot trading volume on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) rose 18.64% in August 2026 from July 2026, while perpetual futures volume increased 10.89%, according to data cited by MarsBit. With spot posting a much larger gain than derivatives, the recovery in trading activity appears to have been led by spot demand.
Spot volume led the monthly increase
MarsBit reported that spot volume across major CEXs climbed 18.64% month over month in August, compared with a 10.89% increase in perpetual contract volume. The gap between the two suggests that the market's pickup in activity came primarily from spot trading rather than derivatives.
Traffic and downloads did not follow volume higher
Website visits for major CEXs edged down 0.26% from July, while downloads declined 5.61% in August. Even as external traffic failed to grow in step with trading activity, volumes still moved sharply higher.
Based on that divergence, MarsBit said the latest rise in activity may have come more from better trading frequency and conversion among existing users than from a large wave of new users or outside traffic.
Perp DEX volume also increased
Among major perpetual decentralized exchanges, or Perp DEXs, perpetual trading volume rose 8.98% from July to August. Website visits showed no obvious increase or decline over the same period.
Data sources and caveat
MarsBit noted that some of the figures may carry significant signs of wash trading or bot activity. Spot and derivatives data came from CoinGecko, traffic data from Similarweb, and download data from the Diandian platform.
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