Crypto Trading Volumes Fall To Lowest Level In 2023 Amid Bear Market Woes

According to a report by CCData, a digital assets data provider, crypto trading volumes on centralized exchanges in July fell to their lowest this year as the bear market lingers. Spot trading volumes dipped by 10.5% to $515 billion, while derivatives volume dipped by 12.7% to $1.85 trillion. 

This slump has been attributed to the low volatility in the price action of the two leading crypto tokens – bitcoin and ether. Both tokens have continued to experience sideways price movement since the beginning of July, thus keeping the market players out as they await a breakout. 

According to the latest exchange review report, Binance remains the largest crypto exchange by spot trading volume, recording $208 billion in trading volume for July. However, it wasn’t all good news for the exchange as its market share declined for the fifth consecutive month in July, dipping to 40.4% – its lowest since August 2022.

The decline in Binance’s market share has been attributed largely to the firm’s ongoing legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In July, the SEC accused Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, of offering different tokens, which the regulator has tagged as “unregistered securities,” to the public. 

Binance’s regulatory battles might have forced traders to seek alternatives as they fear the worst might happen to the crypto exchange.

“The recent concerns over possible regulatory action against Binance seem to have adversely affected the trading activity on the exchange, with users likely to prefer other alternatives,” said Joseph, a research analyst at CCData, in a note to CoinDesk.

South Korea’s Upbit, meanwhile, outperformed the general market trend as the crypto exchange as it rose to become the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, ranking only behind Binance. 

In July, the crypto exchange saw its spot trading volume rise by 42.3% to $29.8 billion. This figure put Upbit ahead of rivals OKX and Coinbase (the first time this is happening), with both crypto exchanges’ volumes dropping 11.6% and 5.75%, respectively.

“Compared to last month, Upbit saw the largest increase in market share, with the exchange now accounting for 5.78% of the trading volumes on centralized exchanges,” the report elaborated. 

Upbit wasn’t the only South Korean crypto exchange that enjoyed a remarkable uptrend last month. According to the report, other South Korean exchanges like Bithumb and CoinOne also saw an increase in their trading volume.