In a remarkable financial shift, centralized cryptocurrency exchanges have witnessed their highest daily trading volume since November 2021. Data from The Block’s Data Dashboard indicates that, as of March 6th, these platforms have seen their seven-day moving average volume soar to $97.4 billion. This surge represents a significant increase from February’s beginning, which recorded a mere $24 billion in daily volume.
Historic Volume Surge
The recent spike in exchange activity is unparalleled, only exceeded briefly during the two months of the 2021 bull market when Bitcoin soared to its all-time high. This period of high activity subsequently diminished as Bitcoin prices fell and investor engagement dwindled. However, the exchange ecosystem has recently been revitalized, with both daily and monthly volumes climbing steadily. December 2023 alone saw monthly volumes exceed $1 trillion, marking a first since the previous year’s downturn.
Leading Exchanges and Growing ETF Interest
The bulk of trade executions occur on major exchanges such as Binance, which commands a 43% market share, with others like UpBit, OKX, and Coinbase following suit. Concurrently, there’s a noticeable surge in the interest in Bitcoin ETFs. Nine new spot Bitcoin ETFs were launched, and the transformation of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF has seen substantial Bitcoin inflows valued at $11.4 billion, pushing total ETF assets managed beyond the $50 billion mark.
This burgeoning enthusiasm for cryptocurrency ETFs aligns with Bitcoin’s price trending upwards. It recently flirted with its peak price, although it encountered resistance and fell slightly after a wave of sell-offs. Meanwhile, the altcoin market has been grappling with its own fluctuations, with a notable uptick in interest surrounding memecoins and AI-centric cryptocurrencies.