MEXC, a digital asset exchange known for its 0-fee trading model, has published its July TradFi trading data. The platform reported a 64% month-over-month increase in Stock and Index Futures trading volume, with the number of available instruments surpassing 285. Storage-related Futures volume grew more than fivefold, accounting for nearly 20% of total TradFi Futures volume and making storage the single largest contributor to July's growth. The data offers a window into how crypto-native traders are allocating capital across the AI hardware stack, as exchanges like MEXC increasingly bridge digital asset and traditional equity markets through USDT-settled instruments.

Storage Takes the Lead in AI-Related Futures

Trading patterns across AI-related instruments on MEXC diverged notably in July. While storage-sector volume surged 575% month over month, computing-chip volume declined by 18%, signaling a clear shift in trader interest from processors toward data storage.

Within the storage segment, growth was concentrated among established industry leaders. SanDisk (SNDK) led all Stock and Index Futures with a 1,573% month-over-month volume increase. Micron (MU) rose 130%, placing third overall. SK Hynix (SKHYNIX) jumped 1,274% to rank fifth, and Samsung (SAMSUNG) climbed 1,406% to take ninth place. Meanwhile, NVIDIA trading volume fell 38%, dropping it to tenth position. SanDisk, a subsidiary of Western Digital, and the three major Asian memory producers are central to the global supply chain for NAND flash and DRAM, components that underpin data center storage infrastructure worldwide.

The pivot may reflect growing attention to the storage layer of AI infrastructure. As AI training and inference workloads demand greater data capacity and higher-bandwidth memory, technologies such as HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and NAND flash are drawing increased interest from traders. SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron are the three primary global suppliers of HBM, a critical component in current-generation AI accelerators.

Broader AI Sector and Regional Instruments Gain Ground

Interest in AI-related trading also extended beyond individual equities into sector and regional ETFs. The leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL recorded a 912% month-over-month volume increase, ranking seventh. The leveraged South Korea ETF KORU surged 3,044%, the largest gain among the top ten instruments, landing in eighth place.

MEXC has expanded its listings beyond U.S. and South Korean stocks to include Japan's Kioxia and China's ChangXin Memory Technologies. Through a combination of individual stocks, industry ETFs, and regional market ETFs, users can trade different segments of the global AI value chain using USDT from a single account, without needing to move between multiple regional brokers.

On the application layer, trading volume in robotics and automation instruments increased by 129% month over month. The segment remains relatively small, with market participation still at an early stage. On July 31, MEXC listed Pre-IPO Futures for Unitree Robotics, a Chinese manufacturer known for its quadruped and humanoid robots, allowing users to trade ahead of a potential public listing. With continued additions, MEXC's TradFi Futures now span multiple layers of the AI value chain, including models, chips, storage, energy, and robotics.

Crypto-Adjacent U.S. Equities Post Strong Gains

Outside the AI sector, U.S. stocks with close ties to the cryptocurrency market also saw increased activity. Combined trading volume across this group rose 66% month over month. Strategy (MSTR) led with an 85% increase, followed by Coinbase at 59%, Circle (CRCL) at 48%, and Robinhood at 35%. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, is one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, while Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.

Tokenized Stocks Dominate TradFi Spot Market

Tokenized stocks became the largest category in MEXC's TradFi spot market during July, representing 62% of total spot trading volume. The number of available tokenized instruments grew by 11% month over month. The expansion aligns with a broader industry trend of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, in which blockchain-based representations of traditional securities are traded on crypto platforms.

Unlike the concentrated activity seen in Futures, spot-market trading was spread across a wider range of themes. SpaceX (SPCX), the most actively traded tokenized stock, accounted for only 1.7% of tokenized-stock volume, and the top ten instruments together represented less than 9%. Those top ten spanned nine categories: commercial space, stablecoins, storage, electric vehicles, semiconductors, Bitcoin-related equities, software, index ETFs, and AI servers — reflecting more diversified demand in the spot market.

MEXC's stock-related product suite now includes Pre-IPO Futures, Stock and Index Futures, tokenized stocks, and RealStocks. The platform offers more than 285 Stock and Index Futures, over 200 tokenized U.S. stock instruments, and access to more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs through RealStocks, all tradable using USDT from a single account.

MEXC Launches "0808: Stock Season" Campaign

On August 8, MEXC launched its first annual brand campaign, MEXC 0808: Stock Season. Through August 28, users can trade Stock Futures, tokenized stocks, and RealStocks with zero trading fees, supported by a total prize pool of $500,000.

MEXC CEO Vugar Usi stated: "Interest across the AI value chain and global equity markets is evolving at an unprecedented pace, as investors look beyond traditional asset boundaries for the next generation of opportunities. At MEXC, we believe access should evolve with them. By combining 0-fee trading, USDT settlement, two-way Futures, and broader asset coverage, we are reducing the friction of moving between markets and building a more connected trading experience where investors can discover opportunities, express conviction, and manage exposure from one platform."

Source: MEXC Blog