Ethereum & Solana Dominate Crypto Derivatives: Fractional Contracts Fuel Trader Frenzy in 2025

Crypto traders are doubling down on derivatives—but this time, they're playing with fractions. Ethereum and Solana have surged ahead as the darlings of the derivatives market, with traders flocking to fractional contracts like Wall Street to a questionable SPAC. Here's why the smart money's betting small to win big.

The Fractional Revolution

No longer just for whales, derivatives now cater to retail traders slicing contracts into bite-sized pieces. Solana's speed and Ethereum's liquidity make them the go-to chains for leveraged plays—even when you're risking pocket change.

High Stakes, Smaller Stack

Platforms report record activity as traders bypass traditional barriers. Why buy a whole Bitcoin when you can 50x a sliver of ETH? (Just don’t remind them what happened last time leverage met crypto.)

As the market matures, one thing's clear: When Wall Street's algo-traders finally wake up to this trend, expect volatility—and at least one hedge fund blaming 'unforeseen market conditions' for their implosion.

• Nano Ethereum contracts dominate trading volume, leading in both trades and notional value.
• Solana and Bitcoin derivatives show strong but mixed interest across contract sizes.
• XRP and Dogecoin maintain steady demand, with altcoins showing broader market engagement.

Trading activity in cryptocurrency derivatives has shown a strong demand for Ethereum and Solana-based products, particularly those offering fractional or perpetual-style contracts. A summary of product performance shows that Ethereum’s “nano” contracts are leading the pack, while Solana, XRP, and other altcoins are also registering large activity across different contract structures.

The “nano Ether” (ET) contract, which represents 0.1 ETH per unit, recorded the highest trading volume with 647,025 contracts exchanged. This product also led in notional trading volume, reaching 104,402 units. Following was the “nano Ether Perp-Style” (ETP) contract, similarly at 0.1 ETH, which logged 376,820 trades and a notional volume of 92,130.

Under Paul Atkins, the SEC has released their Listing Standards for future crypto ETPs, according to @EricBalchunas : Any coin that has futures tracking it for >6mo on Coinbase's derivatives exchange would be approved (below is list)."$HBAR $XRP $XLM $ADA Spot ETFs could gain… pic.twitter.com/YdP09gW4iX

These numbers show increased interest of smaller ethereum derivatives, especially those with flexibility in exposure to retail participants. The total volume of activities of ET and ETP products exceeded other listed assets, making Ethereum derivatives the leaders of the recent trend in trading.

Bitcoin and Solana Register Strong but Varied Interest

The “nano Bitcoin Perp-Style” (BIP), tied to 0.01 BTC per unit, emerged as the third most traded contract, with 66,896 in volume and 21,199 in notional value. Although it trailed the Ethereum products, it still represented a large portion of overall market participation.

Solana-based derivatives also showed up strongly. The “nano Solana” (SOL) product, structured around 5 SOL per unit, reported 38,857 trades and 16,322 in notional volume. Meanwhile, the standard “Solana” (SLC) contract, sized at 100 SOL per unit, saw only 779 trades but achieved a higher notional volume of 1,825, reflecting interest in larger, higher-value exposures.

XRP, Dogecoin, and Altcoins Reflect Broader Market Spread

Ripple’s XRP products also attracted major activity. The “nano XRP” (XRP) contract logged 30,093 trades with a corresponding volume of 31,897, while the full-size “XRP” (XRL) contract registered 1,238 trades and 23,546 in notional volume.

Dogecoin’s derivative, labeled as “DOG” with 5,000 DOG units per contract, registered 4,434 trades and a notional volume of 3,416. Though lower than its Ethereum and solana counterparts, it showed consistent demand.

Additional contracts tied to Avalanche (AVA), chainlink (LNK), and Polkadot (DOT) reflected low levels of participation, each ranging between 1,000 and 5,000 contracts traded. While not at the top of the volume rankings, their inclusion shows broader engagement across the altcoin derivative market.