Market Research

Xi’s model directly addresses several major trends in crypto and trading.

Dominance of perpetual futures

Perpetual futures have become the lifeblood of crypto trading, far surpassing spot volumes. In 2024, the top 10 centralized exchanges recorded $58.5 trillion in perp trading volume (double the previous year). Even decentralized perp exchanges saw meteoric growth, reaching $1.5 trillion in volume in 2024 (a 138% YoY increase from $648B in 2023. Traders demand high-leverage, continuous markets, and there’s a clear shift toward on-chain derivatives. Yet the sector is evolving quickly – Binance’s perps market share fell from 43% to 34% in 2024 as nimble competitors emerged.

How Xi addresses it

By turning trader skill into its own perpetual asset, Xi taps directly into the trillions already flowing through perps while offering a differentiated product that incumbents lack. Xi’s Trading Agents ride on the popularity of perpetual futures but add a unique twist: instead of betting on BTC price alone, users bet on how well a BTC expert can trade BTC. This injects new trading volume and engagement from those seeking more than plain beta exposure.

Rise of social trading

Alongside pure trading growth, 2024 saw DeFi and social investing converge. Platforms blending social features with trading gained traction, and centralized exchanges offering copy-trading (e.g. Bitget) exploded – Bitget reported 100 million users by end-2024 and daily volumes near $20B. Traditional social trading platforms (eToro, ZuluTrade, etc.) also grew fast; the global social trading market went from ~$300M in 2021 to ~$8–9B in 2024, on track for $12.9B by 2028. Notably, total copy-trading volume worldwide was ~$1.4T in 2021, projected to soar to $64.8T by 2028 (66.9% CAGR). These trends show a massive desire among retail traders to follow experts and share in real performance.

How Xi addresses it

Xi doesn’t just mirror trades; it creates an entire new asset class. Investors get liquid, 24-hour exposure to trader alpha with the ability to long or short any Trading Agent – something neither one-click copy-trading nor social token platforms offer. This means a deeper form of social trading: instead of passively copying, users actively trade the trader as an asset, introducing market dynamics to social sentiment.

AI in trading

The market for AI-driven trading platforms reached $11.23 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow ~20% annually through 2030. Large-language models and plug-and-play algorithmic engines can scour order books, read news sentiment, and even generate trading logic. Yet most retail traders struggle to tap this power.

How Xi addresses it

Xi closes the gap by embedding AI assistance throughout the user experience. A built-in contextual Xi AI assistant provides every user with on-demand support (explaining strategies, analyzing performance), while Agentic AIs spin up autonomous personas that execute trades, post real-time P&L updates, and interact with followers on social media. This makes advanced intelligence and seamless engagement available to all users with no extra setup. As the adoption of AI in trading accelerates, Xi positions itself at the forefront by having AI as a core feature from day one.