MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- CompareForexBrokers has analysed the latest Triennial Survey from the Bank for International Settlements, published 30 September 2025, and found the seven major currency pairs are losing dominance in global foreign exchange markets. While 85% of forex transactions consisted of the seven majors in 2022, their share has since dropped to 66.3% in 2025.

Despite the 18.7% drop in major pairs, overall activity has increased considerably, with daily turnover rising 28% to 9.6 trillion USD. On an annual basis, that equates to 3.5 quadrillion USD, up from 2.73 quadrillion in 2022. More data can be found on the forex statistics page.

“Our biggest take away from yesterday’s BIS data release is foreign exchange remains the largest financial market, but the composition of trading is changing,” said Justin Grossbard, co-founder of CompareForexBrokers. “Major pairs still set the benchmark for pricing, but rising volumes in minor and emerging markets have resulted in a significant shift in trading patterns.”

(To view the table, please visit https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251001844788/en/)

“USD/CNY is the clearest example of this shift. It has grown from just 0.8% of global turnover in 2010 to 8.1% in 2025, that is a 912% increase,” said Grossbard. “It paints a clear picture of the yuan’s growing role in global trade and finance, and how Asia has become increasingly central to foreign exchange markets.”

Other dollar pairs have also gained ground. USD/HKD almost doubled its share from 2.4% to 3.6%, supported by active hedging around North Asia trade, and USD/KRW increased to 1.8% as electronics and semiconductor supply chains managed currency risk more directly.

This year’s BIS Triennial Survey confirms that while forex remains the world’s largest and most liquid market, its structure is shifting as new regions and currencies play a bigger role.