Bullish Volume Drops 43% as Spreads Jump Higher

Crypto exchange operator Bullish saw its monthly trading volume drop sharply in July. Total trading activity on the platform fell 42.9% year over year to $30.7 billion, which was also down 39.7% compared to June. Spot trading took the biggest hit, dropping to $29.1 billion. Ethereum spot trading on the platform experienced a severe slowdown, falling 73% year over year to $3 billion.

Despite the drop in trading activity, wider spreads helped offset some of the annual decline. Bullish reported that its average trading spread rose to 2.62 basis points in July, up 72.4% from 1.52 basis points a year earlier. This wider spread means the platform captured higher margins per trade, keeping its calculated metric of volume multiplied by spread nearly flat compared to July of last year.

The monthly metrics represent unaudited preliminary estimates and do not directly measure overall company profitability or customer balance health. However, the drop in spot volume highlights a quieter summer period across institutional markets. Traders should watch whether trading activity picks back up in the fall or if wider spreads remain the key driver for exchange activity metrics.