Crypto Trading Volumes Rise for First Time in 3 Months Amid ETF Optimism

Crypto trading volumes rose in June for the first time in three months amid optimism following the filing of spot bitcoin exchange-traded-fund (ETF) proposals by asset manager BlackRock and other large institutions.

The combined spot and derivative trading volumes on centralized exchanges climbed 14% to $2.71 trillion, according to a report by CCData. That's the first monthly increase since March, said the report.

Several high-profile U.S. institutions filed or refiled for spot bitcoin ETFs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, including Invesco and WisdomTree, along with Fidelity.

“The increase in volatility following the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance US and Coinbase, and the positive outlook in the market following the filing of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity, have contributed to an increase in trading activity last month,” said CCData.

Still, spot trading volumes remain at historically low levels. Spot trading volume in the second quarter was the lowest since Q4 2019, according to the report.

For the derivatives market, volumes increased by 14% in June, representing 78.7% of the crypto market. That, however, is down from 79.1% in May, marking the first drop in derivatives market share in four months, an indication that the EFT filings spurred spot accumulation of crypto assets, according to the report.

The report also noted that the total derivatives volume traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), rose 23.6% in June to $48.3 billion.

“Institutional interest was particularly prevalent in the BTC futures, with the volumes rising 28.6% to $37.9bn, the highest volume traded on the exchange since November 2021,” said the report.