Singapore-based crypto exchange Bitget has reported a significant increase in institutional involvement, which now represents about 80% of the exchange’s total trading volume as of September. This finding comes from a report released by Bitget in collaboration with the blockchain analytics platform Nansen.

The study observed that the contribution of institutional traders to Bitget’s spot markets rose from 39.4% on January 1 to 72.6% by July 30. Additionally, the futures trading sector saw an impressive leap, with institutional market makers growing from a mere 3% of overall activity at the start of 2025 to 56.6% by late July.

The report emphasized that liquidity is a critical factor in the adoption of cryptocurrencies by institutions. It noted that Bitget’s order-book depth, spreads, and execution quality are now competitive with major players like Binance and OKX across various trading pairs.

Liquidity indicates how efficiently an asset can be traded without substantially affecting its price.

Laser Digital and Fenbushi Capital were highlighted as the primary drivers of institutional inflows on Bitget, representing the bulk of positive net flows to the platform, according to on-chain data from Nansen.

During the first half of the year, Bitget reported an average monthly trading volume nearing $750 billion, with approximately 90% deriving from derivatives. The report also stated that institutions account for about half of derivatives trading activities.

In comparison, Binance, the leading centralized crypto exchange, achieved a spot trading volume increase from $432.6 billion in June to $698.3 billion in July, a 61% month-over-month surge, according to data from Coingecko.

As institutional interest in crypto soars throughout 2025, exchanges are vying for market share through varied strategies. In January, Crypto.com launched an institutional trading platform with over 300 trading pairs and advanced strategies specifically for professional investors, indicating a deeper involvement in traditional finance.

In September, Binance introduced a “crypto-as-a-service” platform designed for licensed banks and brokers, enabling traditional financial institutions to directly access its liquidity, futures, and custody frameworks. Moreover, OKX partnered with Standard Chartered in October to create a collateral-mirroring program for its institutional clients within the European Economic Area, allowing them to securely store crypto assets directly with Standard Chartered.