After a record-breaking March driven by Bitcoin's (BTC) equally impressive performance, spot trading volumes at the 10 largest cryptocurrency exchanges fell by more than 60% in April. According to a benchmark released by Finance Magnates Intelligence, its trading volume fell from $2.1 trillion in March to just under $1.3 trillion in April.
Cryptocurrency trading volumes halved after Bitcoin
In March, trading volumes on the largest cryptocurrency platforms reached their highest levels in nearly four years, with an increase of 120% on average. This rally coincided with a new all-time high (ATH) for Bitcoin, which was recorded on March 14, when the price tested nearly $74,000, sparking significant investor activity.
In April, anticipation centered on the Bitcoin halving, which lowered the reward for mining new Bitcoin blocks, which has historically led to strong price increases. However, after the halving, the price fell, losing more than 16% of its ATH.
As a result, trading volumes on major exchanges also declined, with monthly declines averaging 64%. KuCoin saw the biggest decline, with a 150% drop to $30 billion, and Upbit saw a 135% drop to $94 billion.
“This decline came on the heels of unexpected macroeconomic data, the escalation of the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, and negative net inflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, which led to major crypto assets retreating from the gains they achieved in March,” it said. CCData suspended it from its newest cryptocurrency exchange. Quantity report.
Binance remains the market leader, accounting for 54% of the total trading volume of $699 billion in April 2024. ByBit took second place with 11%, followed by OKX with 9%. This adjustment caused Upbit to fall from second to fifth place, ByBit to second place, and OKX to third place.
“Spot trading volume on Binance declined, marking the first drop in spot trading volumes” on the exchange since September 2023, CCData added.
Annual spot volumes are still on the rise
Comparing April 2024 with April 2023, the results are not so bleak. Average sales volume year-on-year increased by 155%, showing a strong growth trend compared to the previous year.
ByBit led this increase by 610%, rising from just under $20 billion to $138 billion over the year. Huobi saw a nearly four-fold increase in spot volumes from $15 billion, and OKX volumes doubled.
“Bitcoin failed to build on the previous week’s momentum, as the price was unable to make a ‘high’ above the $66,800 level,” commented Simpon Peters, market analyst at eToro. “Instead, we saw a pullback towards the $60,000 level, which has been tested on numerous occasions since March.”
This article was written by Damian Schmil at www.financemagnates.com.