Centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) witnessed a notable 13.7% rise in legitimate spot trading volume in August, reaching $877.5 billion.
This growth followed July’s $760 billion total and represents the second consecutive month of increased trading activity, even as major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin ended the month with losses.
6/12 Legitimate CEX spot volume increased by 13.7% to $877.5B: pic.twitter.com/HyUbKXJ4wi
— Lars (@lars0x) September 2, 2024
The uptick in August comes after a steady decline in trading volumes since a March 2024 peak of $1.7 trillion. However, 2024 has been a stronger year overall for CEXs compared to 2023. Data shows that average monthly volumes in 2024 have consistently exceeded $600 billion, a sharp contrast to last year’s average of $300 billion. The arrival of spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds has contributed to this heightened trading activity.
While spot trading volumes rose across the board in August, hitting $1.2 trillion, the derivatives market faced declines. Bitcoin futures trading volume fell by 8.33% to $1.65 trillion, and Ethereum futures saw an 8.62% drop to $743.86 billion.
In terms of market share, Binance remains the dominant player, recording $448.45 billion in spot trading and leading in Bitcoin and Ethereum futures. However, competitors like Bybit and Crypto.com have been chipping away at OKX’s share of the market.
Despite losing ground in spot trading, OKX remains a strong contender in derivatives, alongside other exchanges like BitGet and Bybit, which also posted solid performances in Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has spotlighted a significant acceleration in institutional crypto adoption, driven largely by the surging popularity of exchange-traded funds and increased use of Coinbase Prime among major corporations.
The latest market turbulence, fueled by geopolitical tensions and investor fear, offered a textbook case of how sentiment swings and whale behavior shape crypto price action.
Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos believes an upcoming power shift at the Federal Reserve could benefit U.S. equity markets.
Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto custody bank, is urging its institutional clients to move away from major stablecoins like USDC, Agora USD (AUSD), and Usual USD (USD0), recommending instead a shift to the Global Dollar (USDG) — a stablecoin issued by Paxos and backed by a consortium that includes Anchorage itself.