A significant development in the cryptocurrency market was recently observed, as monthly trading volumes on crypto exchanges surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time since September 2022. According to data provided by a crypto research platform, December’s trading volume impressively reached $1.1 trillion, a noteworthy figure following the peak of $1.35 trillion in May 2022.
Leading the December trading frenzy was Binance, with $432.7 billion in transactions, accounting for 39.3% of the total volume. Binance was followed by Upbit with a volume of $91.8 billion, representing 8.3%, and OKX with $87.5 billion, taking up an 8% share.
The unexpected surge in December’s trading activities is being associated with the potential approval of spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in the United States. Stephen Zheng, President of The Block Research, commented that surpassing the $1 trillion monthly spot trading volume for the first time in over a year reflects optimism for the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF and a resurgence of the bull market, especially considering December is historically a slow month for crypto trading due to the holiday season.
Expectations for Bitcoin ETFs are rising, with leading on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant’s latest weekly newsletter suggesting that the approval of numerous spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. could lead to a “sell the news” event. The firm’s analysis is based on the significant unrealized profits investors may want to continue holding due to Bitcoin’s recent price rise.
Meanwhile, predictions by Polymarket have seen a significant change, with the expectation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval before January 15th rising to 89%, a notable increase from the previous month’s 50% prediction. The K33 Research team also believed that a spot Bitcoin ETF could be approved by January 10, 2024.
Crypto enthusiasts are highly excited about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, and the optimism in the market has become a strong driving force for Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency.