EUR/USD was the world's most traded currency pair in the BIS 2025 Triennial Survey, followed by USD/JPY, USD/CNY and GBP/USD. The ranking measures average daily global over-the-counter FX turnover across spot, forwards, FX swaps, currency swaps, options and other reported products in April 2025. It is not a retail spot-volume leaderboard.

That distinction matters. A pair can rank highly because banks, asset managers, corporations and other institutions use it for funding, hedging and risk transfer. A high global turnover rank does not by itself tell a retail trader the current spread, slippage, financing cost, minimum trade size or whether a specific provider offers the same product.

Latest BIS Ranking: The 10 Most Traded Forex Pairs

The BIS reported roughly $9.6 trillion in average daily OTC FX turnover in April 2025. The U.S. dollar was on one side of 89.2% of all FX trades, and the top 10 currency pairs all involved the dollar.

Rank	Currency pair	Average daily turnover	Share of global FX turnover	Traditional retail major?
1	EUR/USD	~$1.970 trillion	~20.7%	Yes
2	USD/JPY	~$1.370 trillion	~14.4%	Yes
3	USD/CNY	~$781.3 billion	~8.2%	No
4	GBP/USD	~$715.5 billion	~7.5%	Yes
5	USD/CAD	~$491.6 billion	~5.2%	Yes
6	AUD/USD	~$467.1 billion	~4.9%	Yes
7	USD/CHF	~$455.2 billion	~4.8%	Yes
8	USD/HKD	~$346.7 billion	~3.6%	No
9	USD/SGD	~$214.7 billion	~2.3%	No
10	USD/INR	~$181.3 billion	~1.9%	No

The table uses the BIS 2025 detailed FX turnover data. Percentages are shares of the global all-instrument OTC FX total and are rounded.

Official sources:

What "Most Traded" Means

Search results often show a forex-pair ranking without explaining the dataset. The BIS ranking used here has four important labels:

Question	BIS 2025 answer
Market scope	Global OTC foreign exchange
Measurement period	April 2025 daily average
Instrument scope	Spot, outright forwards, FX swaps, currency swaps, options and other reported FX products
Adjustment	Net-net, correcting local and cross-border inter-dealer double counting

The survey covered more than 1,100 banks and other dealers across 52 jurisdictions. Much of that activity is institutional rather than retail.

For that reason, the ranking should answer:

Which currency pairs recorded the highest global OTC turnover?

It should not be read as:

Which pair is automatically cheapest, easiest or most profitable for me to trade?

Those are different questions.

Why the Traditional "Seven Majors" Do Not Match the BIS Top 10

A common retail convention lists these seven U.S.-dollar pairs as the majors:

EUR/USD
USD/JPY
GBP/USD
USD/CHF
AUD/USD
USD/CAD
NZD/USD

That list is useful as a familiar group of widely followed retail pairs, but it is not a current global turnover ranking.

The BIS April 2025 top 10 also included:

USD/CNY
USD/HKD
USD/SGD
USD/INR

Meanwhile, NZD/USD did not appear in the global top 10. The reason is not that one list is "wrong." They answer different questions:

Major pair is a market convention used in retail trading and regulation.
Most traded pair is a measured result for a defined dataset and period.

What Changed in 2025

The U.S. dollar remained dominant

The BIS reported that the dollar was on one side of 89.2% of all FX trades in April 2025. Because every FX transaction contains two currencies, individual currency shares sum to 200%, not 100%.

USD/CNY moved into third place

The renminbi continued to gain market share. BIS commentary reports that USD/CNY turnover rose materially and its share of global FX turnover increased to about 8.1%, placing it ahead of GBP/USD in the global pair ranking.

That does not mean USD/CNY is automatically a better retail practice pair. Product access, quotation conventions, trading hours, regulation and provider conditions can differ substantially.

The survey captured an unusually active month

The BIS also notes that April 2025 coincided with elevated FX volatility and a surge in trading activity. The Triennial Survey is therefore a valuable global snapshot, not a permanent ranking that should be treated as unchanged every day.

Does Higher Turnover Mean Better Liquidity?

Higher global turnover is relevant to market depth and participation, but it is not enough to describe the conditions a retail trader will actually receive.

For a retail account, check the exact provider and account for:

current bid and ask;
spread and commission;
overnight financing;
minimum size;
available trading hours;
execution and rejection behavior;
whether the instrument is rolling spot, CFD, future, forward or another structure;
whether the quote is executable or reference-only.

Do not copy a fixed "typical spread" or ATR range from a general article and assume it applies to every broker, account or market regime.

For the mechanics of transaction costs, see Forex Spread Explained.

Which Forex Pair Should a Beginner Practice First?

There is no universal best first pair. A beginner is usually better served by choosing one or two pairs whose data, product structure and event calendar are easy to document consistently.

A practical selection process is:

1. Start with a pair you can actually access

Confirm that the exact product is available through the provider or simulator you intend to use.

2. Understand the base and quote currencies

Before comparing charts, make sure you can explain what a rising or falling exchange rate means.

The currency-pair basics guide covers base/quote notation and the major, cross and exotic taxonomy.

3. Check costs from the actual provider

Record spread, commission, financing and any conversion fees from the account you would actually use.

Global BIS turnover cannot provide those account-level numbers.

4. Pick a repeatable practice window

A pair can be active globally while your own available session is quiet, event-heavy or inconvenient.

Use the Best Time to Trade Forex guide to compare sessions without assuming one fixed clock window is always "best."

5. Know the two currencies' event exposure

For EUR/USD, for example, both U.S. and euro-area monetary policy and economic releases matter. USD/JPY has a different event map. The point is not to forecast every release; it is to know when your historical sample may have been affected by major scheduled events.

6. Avoid confusing popularity with diversification

Several positions can share the same currency exposure. Two different symbols are not automatically two independent trades.

7. Use replay and live/demo practice for different questions

Historical replay is useful for chart-reading and decision practice because future candles remain hidden. A broker demo is better for learning the provider's current order ticket, quotes and execution workflow.

Neither method proves future profitability.

How ChartMini Fits Into Forex Practice

ChartMini does not provide consolidated live FX volume, broker spreads, live dealer depth or execution quality.

It is designed for historical chart replay.

Use it when you want to practice questions such as:

Can I identify trend structure without seeing future candles?
Can I mark support and resistance before the next move happens?
Can I follow the same entry or no-trade rule repeatedly?
Can I review a completed session without rewriting my decision after seeing the outcome?

For forex-specific information and supported pairs, use the ChartMini Forex Trading Simulator.

For 5-minute intraday replay, open the Day Trading Simulator.

A Simple Beginner Practice Workflow

If you are choosing a pair mainly for chart-reading practice:

Pick one or two pairs rather than ten.
Write one setup or observation rule before opening the chart.
Start from a hidden historical point.
Mark your level or expectation before revealing the next candle.
Record whether you followed the rule, not only whether the simulated trade won.
Repeat the same process across different historical periods.

The goal is not to prove that the most-traded pair is "best." The goal is to create a practice process you can repeat without hindsight.

FAQ

What is the most traded forex pair in 2026?

The latest comprehensive BIS survey available in 2026 measures April 2025 global OTC FX turnover. EUR/USD ranked first, with roughly $1.97 trillion in average daily turnover, followed by USD/JPY, USD/CNY and GBP/USD.

Are the seven major forex pairs the same as the seven most traded pairs?

No. The traditional seven-major list is a retail-market convention. The BIS top-10 turnover ranking includes USD/CNY, USD/HKD, USD/SGD and USD/INR, while NZD/USD is commonly called a major but did not rank in the 2025 global top 10.

Does a higher BIS ranking guarantee a tighter retail spread?

No. BIS turnover is a global market statistic. The spread a retail trader receives depends on the provider, account, time, market conditions and product. Verify those costs directly from the provider.

Why is USD/CNY so high in the global ranking?

The renminbi's global FX share has increased, and BIS data show USD/CNY turnover rising materially. The global total includes institutional hedging, funding and other OTC activity, so the ranking does not imply that every retail trader has identical access to the pair.

Can I use ChartMini to compare live forex liquidity?

No. ChartMini is a historical replay tool. It does not show consolidated live volume, broker depth, live spreads or real execution. Use BIS for global market structure and provider-specific data for current trading conditions.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Foreign exchange trading involves substantial risk. Historical replay results do not guarantee future live-trading outcomes.

Most Traded Forex Pairs in 2026: BIS Ranking & Beginner Guide