Quick Breakdown
- Bybit ranked second globally in 2025, with $1.5 trillion in trading volume despite a historic $1.5B hack.
- MEXC led growth, posting a 91% jump in volume driven by zero-fee trading.
- Binance stayed on top, handling $7.3T in trades, though volumes slipped slightly year-on-year.
Bybit emerged as the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume in 2025, marking a steady recovery after suffering the biggest hack in crypto history earlier in the year, according to CoinGecko.
The exchange recorded $1.5 trillion in total trading volume last year, capturing 8.1% of the global market, according to a report published Thursday by CoinGecko research analyst Shaun Paul Lee. Despite losing $1.5 billion in a February 2025 exploit, Bybit “slowly gained back its dominance throughout the year,” Lee noted.
The February attack, attributed to North Korean hackers, targeted a vulnerability in Bybit’s cold wallet infrastructure, resulting in the theft of $1.5 billion in Ether at the time. It remains the largest crypto hack on record.
How Bybit won back user trust
Industry data suggests most platforms never fully recover from major security breaches. Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador previouslysaid that nearly 80% of hacked crypto projects fail to regain user confidence.
Bybit took a different approach. The exchange kept withdrawals open, honoured all user balances, and moved quickly to secure emergency liquidity. CEO Ben Zhou also publicly addressed users, assuring them that the company had sufficient reserves to cover losses, a move analysts say helped stabilize confidence.
Trading volumes rise across major exchanges
CoinGecko’s report shows that six of the top 10 centralized exchanges saw higher trading volumes in 2025, with combined volumes rising 7.6% year-on-year, adding roughly $1.3 trillion in additional trades.
MEXC was the fastest-growing exchange, with trading volume surging 91% to $1.5 trillion, largely driven by its zero-fee spot trading policy that attracted both retail and high-frequency traders.
Meanwhile, Binance retained its position as the world’s largest exchange, processing an estimated $7.3 trillion in spot trading volume. However, its annual volume dipped slightly by 0.5% compared to 2024, a decline CoinGecko linked to weaker market sentiment following a major liquidation event in October.
Despite slower momentum toward year-end, 2025 proved to be a strong year for crypto markets overall, with Bitcoin and several major tokens hitting multiple all-time highs.
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