Spot CEX trading volume rises 15% to $811B in August as Coinbase and KuCoin lead gains

Centralized crypto exchanges collectively handled $811 billion in spot trading volume during August, a 15% jump from July’s $705 billion. That July figure had been the lowest in two years, making the August rebound feel less like a victory lap and more like a patient getting discharged from the hospital. Coinbase posted the most impressive individual recovery, with spot volume surging 36% month-over-month. KuCoin followed with a 23% gain, while Binance, still the dominant player with roughly 28% market share, grew 21% to reach $227 billion in spot volume. A broad-based recovery with a Bitcoin tailwind The rebound wasn’t confined to a handful of platforms. Most major exchanges reported double-digit percentage increases, suggesting the uptick was driven by market-wide momentum rather than exchange-specific catalysts. Bitcoin’s price rally of more than 30% during August likely served as the primary accelerant. At the peak of activity in mid-August, daily spot volumes were running at approximately $37 billion. That’s a dramatic contrast to the sluggish periods earlier in the year when trading desks were essentially watching paint dry. The recovery also coincided with increased activity...