Most Traded Currency Pairs, Ranked by Daily Volume (2025)

If you only ever learn to trade one currency pair, the data says it should probably be EUR/USD. In April 2025 it accounted for 21.2% of all foreign-exchange turnover on the planet — roughly $2.03 trillion changing hands every single day (Bank for International Settlements, Triennial Survey, April 2025). No other pair comes close.

This is a ranking of the most traded currency pairs by share of global daily volume, built entirely on the BIS 2025 numbers. Seven pairs dominate the board, one criterion decides the order — daily turnover — and the 2025 data carries a genuine surprise near the top. If you want the mechanics behind what you are about to trade, our structured forex beginners course walks through pairs, pips and sessions in order.

What is the most traded currency pair in the world?

The most traded currency pair is EUR/USD at 21.2% of global daily turnover; USD/JPY is a clear second at 14.3% (Bank for International Settlements, April 2025). Between them, those two pairs represent more than a third of all the currency trading on Earth. Everything else competes for what is left.

Why does this matter to you as a trader? Because turnover is a direct proxy for liquidity, and liquidity is what you actually feel every time you click buy or sell — in the spread you pay, the slippage you suffer, and how cleanly the chart respects a technical level.

Source: Bank for International Settlements, Triennial Central Bank Survey, April 2025 (global daily turnover share by pair).

Read the table top to bottom and the forex volume by pair tells one story: concentration. The board is heavily weighted toward the first two rows, and six of these seven pairs have the US dollar on one side. Learn what drives the dollar — Federal Reserve policy and US economic data — and you have a working grip on most of the market.

The 7 most traded currency pairs, ranked by volume

Here is the walk-through, in order. For each pair: what it is, who it suits, the trade-off, and the number that earns its rank.

1. EUR/USD — 21.2% of global turnover

The euro against the dollar is the most liquid financial instrument in the world. At 21.2% of daily turnover (~$2.03tn), it is more traded than the next two pairs put together. That depth is exactly why it is the beginner's pair: spreads are routinely the tightest on any broker's board, slippage is minimal, and the chart tends to respect support and resistance cleanly because so many participants are watching the same levels.

The trade-off is that EUR/USD is rarely explosive. You will not see the wild intraday ranges some traders chase. For learning risk, position sizing and execution without being punished by cost, that is a feature, not a flaw.

2. USD/JPY — 14.3% of global turnover

The dollar-yen is the second most liquid pair at 14.3% (~$1.37tn), and it was one of the fastest growers of the cycle — turnover climbed around 35% between the 2022 and 2025 surveys. It is a favourite of trend and carry traders because interest-rate differentials between the US and Japan drive long, persistent moves. When those two central banks diverge, USD/JPY tends to run.

That sensitivity is the catch: the pair can gap hard around Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve decisions. Highly liquid, but not sleepy.

3. USD/CNY — ~8% of global turnover (the 2025 surprise)

Here is the headline shift. In the 2025 BIS data the US dollar against the Chinese yuan jumped to roughly 8% of global turnover (~$781bn), pushing it above the British pound into third place. That reflects the yuan's rising weight in global trade and reserves.

But volume rank is not a retail recommendation. Onshore CNY access is tightly managed, and most individual traders only ever meet the yuan through offshore or non-deliverable products rather than a standard retail account. It belongs at #3 by the data — and off your platform as a beginner. This is the clearest example of why "most traded" and "best to trade" are not the same question.

4. GBP/USD — 7.6% of global turnover

Nicknamed "cable," sterling-dollar sits at 7.6% (~$730bn). It is still one of the most liquid pairs on any platform, but it carries a bigger average daily range than EUR/USD — more opportunity and more risk in the same session. Traders who want movement without leaving the majors gravitate here.

If range is what you are after, understand it properly first: our breakdown of the most volatile currency pairs ranked by daily range separates liquidity from volatility, which are easy to confuse.

5. USD/CAD — 5.3% of global turnover

The "loonie" at 5.3% (~$510bn) is a commodity-linked pair: because Canada is a major oil exporter, USD/CAD often moves inversely to crude prices. It trades most cleanly during the North American session when both economies' data lands. A solid pair once you understand that a single macro driver — oil — can dominate it for weeks.

6. AUD/USD — 4.9% of global turnover

The Australian dollar against the US dollar, at 4.9% (~$470bn), is the market's risk-sentiment barometer. It tends to rise when global markets are optimistic and fall when fear takes over, partly because of Australia's trade links to China and commodities. It is also the natural pair for traders active in the Asian session.

7. USD/CHF — 4.9% of global turnover

The dollar against the Swiss franc, also around 4.9% (~$470bn), is the classic safe-haven pair. The franc strengthens in times of stress, which often makes USD/CHF move inversely to EUR/USD. Liquid and usually orderly — but capable of sharp moves when risk sentiment flips suddenly. Many traders watch it alongside EUR/USD precisely because the two so often mirror each other.

Why does the US dollar dominate the rankings?

Look again at the board. EUR/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CNY, GBP/USD, USD/CAD, AUD/USD and USD/CHF — the dollar sits on one side of all seven. That is not an accident of this list. In April 2025 the US dollar was on one side of roughly 89% of every FX trade on the planet (Bank for International Settlements), a share that even edged up from 2022.

The reason is structural: the dollar is the world's reserve currency and the default settlement currency for oil, metals and most cross-border trade, so an enormous volume of global activity has to pass through it. For a trader, that fact pays a dividend. Learn what moves the dollar once — Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions, US inflation prints, the monthly jobs report — and that single body of knowledge carries across six of the seven most traded pairs. It is the highest-leverage study a new forex trader can do, which is another argument for starting on a dollar pair rather than a cross.

Does high volume mean tighter spreads?

In general, yes — and this is the single most practical reason to care about the ranking. Turnover is liquidity, and liquidity is what compresses the most liquid forex pairs into the tightest spreads on your broker's board. More buyers and sellers at any instant means a smaller gap between the price you can buy at and the price you can sell at, plus less slippage when your order fills.

Look at how steeply the bars drop after the first two. That shape is the practical lesson: the cost advantage of trading near the top of this list is real and measurable, not a rounding error. For a beginner paying the spread on every round trip, starting on EUR/USD rather than a thin exotic can be the difference between a strategy that breaks even and one that bleeds. Volume also decides when a pair is cheapest to trade — our guide to the best time to trade forex by session shows where the liquidity overlaps fall.

Which currency pair is best for a beginner?

Start on EUR/USD. It gives you the tightest spreads, the deepest liquidity, the most educational material, and the cleanest technical behaviour of any pair on the board — everything a new trader needs and nothing they do not.

Route yourself by situation:

• Complete beginner: EUR/USD only, until your process is consistent. One pair, mastered, beats five pairs half-understood.
• You want more movement: graduate to GBP/USD or USD/JPY — still highly liquid, but with a larger daily range to manage.
• You follow macro themes: USD/CAD (oil) or AUD/USD (risk sentiment) let you trade a view you can actually research.
• You are tempted by USD/CNY because it ranks #3: don't. Volume rank is not retail access.

Before you add any second pair, make sure you can name whether it is a major, minor or exotic and how its spread behaves — our guide to majors, minors and exotics is the right next read.

Frequently asked questions

Trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. This article is educational content, not investment advice.