Crypto Trading Hits Busiest Pace Since June 2022

Spot trading volume across centralized crypto exchanges rose for the fourth consecutive month in January, climbing to a level last seen in June 2022 as the approval of bitcoin ETFs sparked renewed interest in digital assets.

Volume increased 4.45% versus December to $1.40 trillion, according to CCData.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) surged going into the Jan. 10 ETF approval but mostly fell after that.

“The price action following the highly anticipated approval suggests that the sell-off marked the end of an uptrend that had persisted for months,” said CCData.

Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume with its volume rising 2.73% in January to $473 billion. Binance currently holds a market share of 31.3% but did see its spot share gradually decline over 2023 as the company faced an array of charges from regulators that eventually forced founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao to step down.

Coinbase, the chosen custodian for most of the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF participants, saw its market share rise for the third month in a row to 5.42%. OKX, the second-largest exchange, saw its trading volumes and market share fall in January.

In terms of derivatives trading volumes, January saw a decline of 2.79% to $3.25 trillion, the first decline in four months. The derivatives market, which is a bigger part of the crypto market than spot trading, saw its market share drop from 71.4% in December to 69.9%. CME saw the biggest increase in derivatives trading volume.