Binance Captured 74% of TradFi ETF Perpetual Futures Trading in July, Research Says

A market expanding from near zero

Binance Research said cumulative 2026 trading volume in TradFi ETF perpetual futures exceeded $116 billion. Over the past seven months, the category grew at an average monthly rate of 170%, moving from effectively negligible weekly volume at the start of the year to roughly $30 billion per week in July. That implies a monthly run rate of about $100 billion and an annualized pace near $700 billion.

From January through July 2026, total TradFi perpetual futures volume reached more than $1.6 trillion. ETF-linked contracts represented 7.25% of that total over the full period, but their share rose sharply over time, reaching almost one-fifth of all TradFi-Perps volume in July.

Binance’s position in the segment

The report said Binance began listing ETF perpetual contracts in March 2026. Since launch, its share of ETF TradFi-Perps trading reportedly climbed from 18% to 74% in July, making the exchange the leading venue in that market during the month.

Within Binance’s own TradFi perpetual futures business, ETF-based contracts accounted for about 30% of total TradFi-Perps turnover in July. According to the research, that marks a faster shift on Binance than in the wider market, where ETF underlyings rose from a niche area at the start of 2026 to around 19% of the segment by midyear.

Which contracts are drawing activity

The most actively traded ETF perpetuals in July included products linked to semiconductor exposure and South Korean equities. Binance highlighted SOXL, KORU, EWY, QQQ and SPY among the leading contracts by exchange trading volume.

The researchers said some instruments showed especially strong activity when measured against turnover in their underlying traditional markets. They pointed in particular to SOXL, KORU and EWY. In the case of leveraged South Korea-related ETFs, perpetual futures trading volume exceeded the trading volume of the underlying ETF itself.

Binance Research attributed this to two main factors. One is demand for leveraged exposure, especially in technology-linked products. The other is market access: South Korean equity-linked instruments may be difficult to trade continuously through traditional channels, while perpetual futures offer around-the-clock pricing.

Funding rates and trading behavior

The report said funding rates help show how these contracts are being used. Positive funding rates in instruments such as SOXL, KORU and EWY suggest longs are paying to maintain exposure, which Binance Research linked to directional demand and appetite for leverage. QQQ, SPY and TQQQ showed lower positive readings, indicating more balanced positioning.

By contrast, some products had negative funding rates. Binance singled out UVXY, which posted a deeply negative annualized rate of -68.82%, and SQQQ, at -1.53%. According to the analysts, that pattern points to crowded short positioning and the use of perpetuals as a substitute for borrowing securities or structuring similar trades in traditional markets. The report also noted that experienced traders may use leveraged ETF contracts for capital-efficient long exposure, hedging and strategies tied to funding rates or the structural decay of leveraged products.

Broader ETF backdrop

Binance framed the rise of ETF perpetuals against continued growth in the global ETF market. Citing ETFGI, it said global ETF assets reached a record $23.09 trillion at the end of June 2026, up 16.3% since the start of the year. ETF trading turnover in the first half of 2026 exceeded $40 trillion, 50% higher than a year earlier, while monthly ETF turnover hit a record $7.8 trillion in March.

Even so, Binance said the ETF-Perps market remains small relative to underlying ETF trading. The July run rate of roughly $100 billion amounted to less than 1% of the approximately $7.8 trillion in ETF turnover recorded in March. The report said that if ETF perpetuals reached 10% of that underlying market volume, monthly turnover could rise to about $780 billion; at 20%, it could reach roughly $1.56 trillion.