Markets
April crypto trading volume falls for first time in seven months to $6.58 billion
Cryptocurrency trading volume cooled in April, recording the first decline in seven months, as rising geopolitical tensions and slower inflows into U.S.-listed spot ETFs weighed on the digital asset market.
Cumulative volume in cash and derivatives markets fell 43.8% to $6.58 trillion, a sharp retreat from March’s record $9.12 trillion, according to a report from the data provider of digital assets CCData, based in London.
Derivatives once again fell out of favor with investors, as activity in the futures and options market decreased by 47.6% to $4.57 billion. Meanwhile, spot market volume suffered a relatively measured drop of 32.6% to $2.01 trillion.
“This decline followed unexpected macroeconomic data, an escalation in the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, and negative net flows from US spot bitcoin ETFs, causing leading crypto assets to retrace the gains made in March,” CCData said in a report shared with CoinDesk.
Bitcoin (BTC)the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, fell nearly 15% to less than $60,000 last month, snapping a seven-month winning trend. The sell-off came as an overheated bull market faced broad risk aversion, characterized by renewed tensions in the Middle East, the diminishing likelihood of rapid Fed rate cuts this year and the strength of the dollar index.
O CoinDesk 20 Indexa measure of the most liquid digital assets, traded down nearly 20%, and the total crypto market capitalization fell 16.8% to $2.177 trillion.
While Binance remained the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, its combined spot and derivatives market share fell to 41.5%. Trading volume on the exchange’s spot market plummeted 39.2% to $679 billion in April, marking the first drop since September 2023.
“The decline in Binance’s market share also coincided with the news that its founder and previous CEO, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison for violating US money laundering laws,” noted CCData.
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stepped down after pleading guilty to criminal charges in the US in November and was replaced by Richard Teng. Since then, Binance’s spot market share has increased from 30.8% to 33.8%, CCData said.