Traditional Finance Asset Trading Expands on Crypto Exchanges Ahead of FOMC

Traditional finance (TradFi) asset trading volume has expanded on cryptocurrency exchanges, with gold, oil, and stock-linked products experiencing a surge in trading activity ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in September. MEXC Ventures recently published research showing that traditional finance assets accounted for 11.5% of total futures trading volume on MEXC in June, rising to 22.9% by August—a near doubling.

The proportion of listed tradfi asset pairs among all traded futures pairs increased from 24% in June to 36.7% in August. Individual stock derivatives led the expansion, with their share climbing from 18.1% in June to 39.6% in August. Index and ETF futures saw a more moderate rise, increasing from 13.8% to 17.1% over the same period.

In spot trading, individual stocks also dominated, rising from 45.4% of tradfi volume in June to 63.5% in August. Index and ETF products grew slightly from 7.1% to 8.6%. The focus on specific stock prices rather than broad market exposure suggests demand for directional price movements.

Trading activity concentrated ahead of the FOMC, with 61.7% of SOXS (semiconductor ETF-linked) contract volume occurring between September 10–11, and similar spikes seen in SOXL (leveraged inverse ETF) and KORU (Korean stock leveraged exposure) contracts.

Gold-linked products showed divergent trends: futures trading increased by 31.1% in August compared to July, while spot trading rebounded 13.3% after a 21.16% drop in July. In September, Tether Gold (XAUT) spot volume surged 357.8% on September 10 and rose another 177.8% the next day.

Oil-linked products also saw increased activity ahead of FOMC: USOIL and UKOIL futures rose 59.1% and 48.4% respectively on September 11, while OIL (USOON) spot surged 198.5% that day.

MEXC Ventures emphasized that the sustainability of this trend beyond the FOMC event will be key to determining whether it represents a temporary spike or a longer-term shift in demand for tradfi assets on crypto exchanges.