April 21, 2026 — An ongoing boom in derivatives trading volume could strain capacity and increase operational risk—challenges market participants are working to overcome with technology upgrades that are modernizing market infrastructure.
Trading volume in futures has increased 71% since 2019, with a significant portion of that expansion occurring from 2024 to 2025. Growth is being driven by a combination of powerful trends, including economic uncertainty and geopolitical crises that have increased market volatility, and technology innovations and a surge of retail participation that have expanded market access. Growth has been good news for derivatives dealers. Between 2019 and 2025, dealer revenues in futures rose 28%, with FICC futures revenue up 35% and equity futures revenue rising 21%.
“Looking ahead, projected market growth and an expected relaxation of dealer capital requirements in the U.S. could further expand sell-side market-making and the revenue that comes with it,” says Stephen Bruel, Head of Derivatives and FX in the Market Structure and Technology Practice at Crisil Coalition Greenwich.
Meeting New Challenges with Innovation
Rapid growth in derivatives trading volume could also test the limits of market capacity. Dealers are working to keep ahead of those challenges by modernizing derivatives workflows throughout the trade and clearing lifecycle.
“Industry participants are looking to improve their ability to manage the operational implications of growth by integrating innovative technologies like Gen AI and even tokenized assets,” says Stephen Bruel.
Although the primary use case for AI in derivatives markets today is for market analysis and research, dealers believe the ultimate value will in accelerating throughput, especially in post-trade processing.
“Derivatives are more onerous to trade and manage than most cash products,” says Stephen Bruel. “For that reason, dealers and market participants are relying on AI and other innovative technologies to ensure that rapid growth does not come with heightened operational risk.”
Crisil Coalition Greenwich Report
A new report from Crisil Coalition Greenwich presents the results of a Q1 2026 study for which the firm interviewed 220 derivatives market participants and experts. The report examines the key drivers of change in the derivatives market, the impact of innovation and the relationships between market participants.