Markets
Crypto spot trading slows in April
Cryptocurrency spot trading cooled last month for the first time in seven months.
This is a trend driven by a decreasing likelihood of interest rate cuts and slower inflows into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Seeking Alpha. reported Saturday May 18, citing figures from a researcher CCData.
According to this data, the spot market volume on exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance And Kraken fell 32.6% to $2.01 trillion in April, while monthly derivatives trading volume fell 24.1% to $4.57 trillion, its first decline in three months.
“This decline follows unexpected macroeconomic data, an escalation of the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East and negative net flows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, leading major crypto assets to retrace the gains they made in March,” CCData said.
Last month, bitcoin also fell nearly 15%, falling below $60,000 and breaking a seven-month streak that included a record more than $73,000 in March.
As the report notes, this rise was primarily driven by speculation surrounding the regulatory approval of spot ETFs last year and the Bitcoin Halving Event.
Last week, crypto custody company Bakkt said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval of Bitcoin ETFs This will lead to institutional investors playing a larger role in the cryptocurrency trading market.
The company’s results showed that in the first three months of the year, cryptocurrency trading volume climbed 324% compared to the previous quarter, “driven by exceptionally strong customer sales activity,” the presentation said.
“As our first quarter trading volumes show, we have started to see positive signs in the market and the overall demand environment is improving, with increased industrial activity, higher part prices and volume higher overall retail transactions.” Andy MainPresident and CEO of Bakkt, said during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call.
Institutional investors in this market are looking for a purpose-built crypto trading platform that will fit their needs and priorities, rather than the existing commercial market that was built primarily for retail investors, Bakkt’s presentation states.
“The cryptocurrency 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 discovering that the retail central order book structure does not meet their needs at scale.”
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