Cryptocurrency platform Bullish (BLSH), which operates an institutional-only cryptocurrency exchange business, broke into the top three centralized cryptocurrency exchanges by spot volume in February for the first time in February, surpassing Coinbase (COIN) as trading activity slowed across the industry, according to CoinDesk Data’s February Exchange Review.
Spot trading volume at CoinDesk parent company Bullish increased 62.6% month-on-month to $76 billion, the exchange’s highest monthly trading total since October 2025. This surge boosted Bullish’s market share to 5.06%, an increase of 2.04 percentage points, making it the third largest centralized exchange by spot trading volume.
The gains pushed Bullish, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange last year, ahead of Coinbase (COIN), which had a spot market share of 4.59% during the month.
This milestone comes despite a decline in overall activity on centralized exchanges. Spot and derivatives trading volume combined fell 2.41% in February to $5.61 trillion, the lowest level since October 2024, the report said.
The economic slowdown coincides with waning volatility in major cryptocurrencies. Despite the intense volatility in Bitcoin during the first and last weeks of February, Prices have traded in a tight range between $60,000 and $70,000 for much of the month, limiting speculation that tends to drive trading volumes higher.
Among them, the spot transaction volume was US$1.50 trillion, a decrease of 3.01% from January. Derivatives trading fell 2.41% to $4.11 trillion, but remained the dominant force, accounting for 73.2% of all transactions on centralized exchanges, the report said.
While Binance continues to dominate by a wide margin, with spot trading volume reaching $331 billion in February and accounting for approximately 22% of the market, its dominance has fallen to its lowest monthly level since October 2020, indicating that trading activity has become more fragmented across competing platforms.
The rise in bullish rankings highlights the changing dynamics among centralized exchanges amid increased competition. Exchanges are increasingly competing for liquidity, trading incentives and new product offerings to attract traders during periods of slow market activity. Some companies have partnered with major U.S. stock exchanges to offer tokenized securities or launch prediction market trading.
