Equities represented more than 60% of trading in August real-world asset (RWA) perpetual futures across three estimates, while the totals differed on both market size and change from July.
One estimate put August volume at $701 billion, against $766 billion in July. A second counted $751.9 billion, up from $708.3 billion, while a third, covering 19 venues, recorded $799.5 billion, compared with $792.2 billion in July.
Equities’ share was 62%, 64.8% and 62.3%, respectively. The $701 billion estimate also assigned 85% of volume to centralized exchanges.
Because the datasets’ venue and contract coverage has not been reconciled, the totals are separate estimates rather than a single marketwide measure. The first showed a decline from July, while the other two showed increases.
Perpetual futures give traders exposure to an asset’s price moves without ownership and have no fixed end date. The figures count August trading activity; they do not represent assets held or the value of contracts still open.
