Crypto Leverage Trading Shifts From Bitcoin to Stocks and Commodities
Borrowed-money trading moves into traditional assets
One year after a massive crypto crash wiped billions from the market, traders are still using borrowed money to bet on price moves — but they are no longer betting mainly on Bitcoin and other digital tokens. Instead, that speculative activity is flowing into stocks, commodities and other traditional assets.
Key numbers from the shift
- Total open interest in perpetual futures across five major trading venues has fallen to about $67 billion, down from $81 billion over the past year, according to data from analytics firm Talos.
- Open interest in contracts tied to so-called real-world assets has risen from near zero to $9 billion.
- Those real-world asset contracts now make up 14% of the total open interest across the five venues.
What perpetual futures are showing
Perpetual futures, often called perp futures, are a type of contract that lets traders bet on the future price of an asset without an expiration date. They are a popular tool for leveraged trading, meaning traders can control large positions with relatively little money of their own. The total open interest figure is a common measure of how much speculative positioning exists in a market.
The crash backdrop
The shift comes a year after what Bloomberg describes as a "historic crash" in crypto that saw $19 billion wiped from leveraged positions. Since then, leveraged trading in crypto has not returned to its previous levels. However, the broader appetite for large speculative bets has not vanished — it has simply moved elsewhere.
What is confirmed
The data from Talos is a reported metric covering five major trading venues. It shows a clear decline in overall perp futures open interest and a measurable rise in real-world asset exposure. These are the specific, confirmed figures available from the source.
Why this matters for traders
The trend suggests that while crypto may have lost some of its grip on speculative capital after the crash, traders who are looking for volatility and leverage are finding it in more traditional markets through crypto-linked derivatives. For the crypto industry, it is a sign that the ecosystem is becoming a gateway to conventional finance rather than remaining a closed loop of digital-asset speculation.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.