In January, spot trading volumes surged by 4.45% to $1.4 trillion, propelled by the SEC’s approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF, as detailed in a CCData market report.
This marks the fourth consecutive month of gains among centralized exchanges, reaching activity levels last observed in 2022. Binance maintained its dominance with a 31.3% market share, while OKX’s volumes dropped 5.2% to $99 billion, and Coinbase spiked to 5.42%.
Meanwhile, derivatives trading fell by 2.79% to $3.25 trillion, hitting the lowest point since February 2023. Binance held a 46.3% market share, but volumes declined for OKX and Bybit.
Analysts attribute the drop in derivatives trading to traders adjusting positions after the ETF approval. Despite anticipation, Bitcoin’s price plummeted nearly 9% post-approval, prompting sell-offs in institutional funds and miner reserves.
Crypto miners moved over $1 billion to exchanges, possibly in preparation for the upcoming halving, which will reduce Bitcoin mining rewards.
