Share this article
Crypto OTC Volumes on Wintermute Soared 400% in 2023
The market maker said the uptick in over-the-counter trading was due to volumes moving off-exchange.
Updated Jan 10, 2024, 7:11 a.m. Published Jan 10, 2024, 5:44 a.m.
Crypto trading volume hit a multi-year low in 2023, as exchanges saw rapid declines during the depths of crypto winter, but that does not mean trading was dampened.
In a new report from Wintermute, the market maker and liquidity provider, said that its over-the-counter (OTC) volume was up 400% throughout the year as volumes moved off-exchanges.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Wintermute said that during the first half of 2023, its OTC trading volume decreased, while the number of individual trades remained stable. In the second half of the year, however, the number of unique trades grew sixfold to 29 million while weekly OTC volume hit $2 billion.
“The developments in the space at the end of 2022 left the whole industry facing a challenging outlook. Markets slowed down, liquidity dried up, and we observed volumes starting to shift from exchanges to OTC,” Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO and Co-Founder of Wintermute Group, said in the report.
Liquidity in cryptocurrency trading refers to how easily large orders can be executed without significantly affecting the market price. Without sufficient liquidity, making large trades is more likely to alter prices.
A lack of liquidity has been a persistent challenge for exchanges throughout 2023, which has led many large institutional traders to move over to OTC desks.
Even as bitcoin rallied by over 150% through the year, the market was still plagued by the ‘Alameda Gap’ in liquidity, CoinDesk reported.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, had a particularly challenging time with liquidity, as the liquidity available in its order book dropped by 25% in November, compounded by its $4 billion settlement with U.S. authorities and the subsequent resignation of its CEO Changpeng ‘CZ' Zhao.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Internet Computer climbs back to $3 as short-term momentum improves
ICP pushed above the $3 level on rising activity, holding recent gains as traders reassess near-term direction.
What to know:
- ICP rose about 2.7% to roughly $3.00, reclaiming a closely watched psychological level.
- Trading activity increased during the move higher, accompanying the push through resistance near $2.95–$3.00.
- Price has since stabilized just above $3, keeping attention on whether the level can hold as near-term support.
Top Stories
