Why Traders Are Swapping BTC for Bullion
Gold ($2.15B) and Silver ($1.98B) futures on Binance have surged to rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in terms of trading volume, surpassed only by Bitcoin ($21.5B), Ethereum ($18.1B), and Solana ($3.0B). Cumulative trading for gold and silver contracts surpassed $130 billion by early March 2026. The milestone achievement is notable, given that the exchange launched metal perpetual contracts in January this year.
Source: CryptoQuant
Gold and silver futures rival Bitcoin on Binance
Recent events, including geopolitical hostilities, persistent inflation, the weakening of the dollar, and increases in US trade tariffs, have triggered market-wide shocks across both traditional and cryptocurrency markets.
However, over the past year, gold has gained 50.17% to $4,676/ounce, and silver has gained 117.01% to $73.02/ounce. Bitcoin, however, has declined by about 19% in the same time period, trading at $66,863 at press time.
Source: TradingView
The result has been an investor capital rotation to “time-tested” bullion markets, which are subject to less intense volatility.
Additionally, metal futures have seen increased trading volume on blockchain due to features such as 24/7 accessibility and up to 50x leverage. Even more, incorporating blockchain accelerates the trade process by eliminating intermediaries and the bureaucratic processes typical of traditional markets.
Outside speculation, central banks globally have collectively purchased over 1,000 metric tons of gold annually, further fueling the gold rush. Meanwhile, silver’s surge in demand is driven by growth in artificial intelligence and green energy.
The gold-Bitcoin correlation began to show a sharp divergence in 2025 and continued into 2026. However, analysts maintain that the decoupling is only temporary and that long-term positive correlation remains intact due to the assets’ shared scarcity.
That said, Binance continues to cater to both traditional and crypto demand, as seen by its recent announcement to launch oil and gas trading.
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