CEX stock perpetual trading volume surges nearly 17-fold in 2026

Stock perpetual trading on centralized crypto exchanges climbed from around $15 billion in April 2026 to nearly $250 billion in July 2026. That’s a roughly 17x increase in a matter of months, turning what was once a niche product into one of the fastest-growing categories in all of crypto trading. Stock perpetuals, sometimes called equity perps or RWA perps, let traders take leveraged positions on stocks and indices without actually owning the underlying asset, available 24/7 with no brokerage account required. The numbers behind the boom RWA perpetual volumes on CEXes peaked at $311 billion in June 2026, representing a 57% increase from the previous month alone. The dramatic growth in 2026 follows negligible levels in late 2025, coinciding with product launches in TradFi-on-crypto. Binance is running away with it Binance commands an estimated 70-80% market share in the category. Competitors aren’t sitting idle. Gate.io and Bitget have been gaining traction in the space, rolling out their own stock perpetual products and attracting traders looking for alternatives. Why stock perps are catching fire now The product launches themselves accelerated in late 2025 and early 2026, with ma...