The month of December was the biggest month for spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized crypto exchanges in history, according to insights from CCData. 

“In December, the combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges rose by 7.58% to 11.3 [trillion], recording a new all-time high for digital asset trading activity on centralized exchanges,” crypto research firm CCdata said in a Jan. 15 markets report viewed by Cointelegraph.

Among the major crypto exchanges, Binance led with the largest spot trading volume at $946 billion, up 0.13%. 

Bybit followed it with $247 billion, up 18.8%, and Coinbase with $191 billion, up 9.62%.

Crypto derivatives trading volume increased by 7.33% in December to reach $7.58 trillion, an all-time high for the derivatives markets:

“This is the third consecutive increase in monthly derivatives volume as traders look to capture volatility on both directions with liquidations spiking during the month.”

Third consecutive increase in monthly crypto derivatives volume

It was the same month that Bitcoin ( BTC ) hit $100,000 for the first time, on Dec. 5, before hitting a new all-time high of $108,249 on Dec. 17.

Monthly crypto trading on CEXs hits all-time high in December: CCData image 0

Bitcoin is trading at $99,459 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

However, the month also saw over $1 billion liquidated in the crypto market over the 24 hours on Dec. 20 as Bitcoin retraced almost 3.5% from the $100,000 price level , days after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said: “The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.”

Related: Bitcoin exchange reserves near 7-year low as hedge funds buy the dip

Optimistic market participants were “completely unprepared for bad news,” Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal told Cointelegraph at the time.

Eyes on the next Fed decision as Bitcoin revisits $100,000

The first interest rate decision for 2025 from the US Federal Reserve is set for Jan. 29. 

The crypto market is now seeing better chances of rate cuts after the US Consumer Price Index report on Jan. 15 showed lower-than-expected core inflation in December. 

This sparked a rally in Bitcoin’s spot price, pushing it from around $96,000 to $100,522.

Magazine: Crypto market is ‘not playing ball’ so far in 2025: Jason Pizzino, X Hall of Flame

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.