Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency spot trading slows in April
Cryptocurrency spot trading cooled last month for the first time in seven months.
It was a trend driven by a decreasing likelihood of interest rate cuts and slower inflows into U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). reported Saturday (May 18), citing researcher numbers CCData.
According to this data, spot market volume on exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance It is Kraken fell 32.6% to $2.01 trillion in April, while monthly derivatives trading volume fell 24.1% to $4.57 trillion, its first drop in three months.
“This decline followed unexpected macroeconomic data, an escalation in the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, and negative net flows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, leading major crypto assets to retrace gains made in March,” CCData said.
Last month we also saw bitcoin fall nearly 15%, falling below $60,000 and breaking a seven-month bull streak that included a record of more than US$73 thousand in March.
As the report noted, this run was primarily driven by speculation surrounding the regulatory approval of spot ETFs last year and the bitcoin halving event.
Last week, crypto custody firm Bakkt said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval of bitcoin ETFs will lead institutional investors to play a more important role in the cryptocurrency trading market.
The company’s earnings showed that in the first three months of the year, crypto trading volume rose 324% compared to the previous quarter, “driven by exceptionally strong customer trading activity,” the presentation said.
“As evidenced by our trading volumes in the first quarter, we are beginning to see positive signs in the market and the overall demand environment improving, with more industry activity, higher coin prices and greater overall retail trading volume,” Main Andypresident and CEO of Bakkt, during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
Institutional investors in this market are seeking a purpose-built cryptocurrency trading platform that aligns with their needs and priorities, rather than the existing trading market that was built primarily for retail investors, Bakkt’s presentation said.
“The crypto trading industry was built primarily for ordinary retail investors who use a central limit order book trading structure,” Main said. “Meanwhile, institutional investors offering bitcoin ETFs are increasingly finding that the core structure of the retail limit order book is not meeting their large-scale needs.”
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