Binance Was Crypto's Most Powerful Middleman in 2022

According to data from crypto analytics firm Arcane Research, Binance represented 92% of BTC spot trading volume. The firm also found that the world's largest crypto exchange was responsible for 66% of crypto perp volume and 61% of BTC derivatives volume by the end of 2022.

“There are no other evident ‘winners’ of 2022 other than Binance when it comes to the crypto market structure and market dominance,” Arcane Research wrote in its year-end report.

“No matter how you look at it in terms of trading activity, Binance is the crypto market. After lifting trading fees for its BTC spot pairs this summer, Binance completely overtook all market share in the spot market," Arcane added.

Launched in 2017, Binance quickly became the biggest player in the US$800 billion crypto industry. The recent collapse of its closest competitor, FTX, has also further cemented Binance's status as the most powerful intermediary in the crypto market, an ironic statement considering the fact that crypto is often touted to be all about decentralisation and self-custody.

At the time of writing, Binance is recording more than US$10 billion in trading volume in the past 24 hours, while Coinbase comes in second at US$1.4 billion. According to data from the Block Research, overall trading volume across the crypto market decreased significantly in December, most likely spurred by FTX's demise.

Despite recent scrutiny over its financial health, Binance is still making big plays in the industry, including US$500 million in Elon Musk's Twitter deal and US$200 million in media platform Forbes.

Read more: CZ Relishes “Stress Test” as Binance Sees US$1B Outflows in 24H

Last month, it was reported that Binance US will acquire Voyager Digital’s assets after offering the “highest and best bid". The exchange also announced that its acquisition of Indonesia’s Tokocrypto and Japan’s Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC).