Crypto’s center of gravity has officially moved. Cboe Global Markets published a report titled “Beyond ETFs: How Derivatives & Tokenization Are Reshaping Crypto,” and the headline number is hard to ignore: derivatives notional volume hit $111.5 trillion in 2025, compared to just $25.3 trillion in spot trading.
That’s a 4.4x ratio. For context, the derivatives-to-spot ratio was 3.5x back in 2023. The gap isn’t just widening, it’s accelerating.
Derivatives are the new front door
Cboe’s research traces this shift back to a specific catalyst: the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in 2024. Those approvals didn’t just give institutions a convenient on-ramp to crypto exposure. They created a downstream effect that turbocharged demand for hedging tools, basis trades, and structured products built around those very ETFs.
The report highlights that Cboe launched continuous futures on December 15, 2025, a product specifically designed to bridge the gap between crypto-native trading and the kind of infrastructure institutional desks expect. Post-ETF approval, trading activity on Cboe’s platforms climbed meaningfully.
