Retail Enthusiasm for Bitcoin Surges, Driving Spot Trading Volume to One-Year Peak, Reports TradingView News

The centralized exchanges have noted an impressive spike in Bitcoin’s BTCUSD spot trading volume. A record-breaking $46.26 billion was traded on March 5, indicating a surge in participation from retail traders in acquiring the premier cryptocurrency.

Unprecedented annual record for Bitcoin spot trading volume

The phenomenal trading activity observed saw a slight dip the next day, with volumes cooling down to $31.32 billion on March 6. Notably, Binance dominated this activity, handling over 74% of the trades amounting to $18 billion.

Mallika Kollar, a quantitative research associate at Bitwise, noted on March 6 that “Bitcoin purchase activity is on the rise. Spot trading volume has soared by almost 680% since the year’s onset.”

Matching this high trading volume was the record-setting daily inflows for U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On March 5, these ETFs saw a historic $10 billion in daily trading volume, surpassing the previous week’s record of $7.7 billion.

Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, tweeted on March 5, “The trading volume numbers for these ETFs, less than two months old, are staggering.”

The cumulative effect of vigorous exchange activities and ETF interest pushed Bitcoin’s price to a new zenith, climbing above $69,200 on March 5. Bitcoin’s price advanced 1.09% in a 24-hour timeframe leading up to 1:30 pm UTC, trading at $66,878 as per CoinMarketCap data.

In South Korea, Bitcoin saw an exceptional spike in value, where it traded above $72,000 on March 5 at Upbit, the nation’s largest crypto exchange when considering the KRW/USD exchange rates. This phenomenon, often referred to as the Kimchi premium or Korea premium index, has paralleled Bitcoin’s price uptick since the early days of February.

Related: Bitcoin’s stellar performance raises the question: Is $100K on the horizon?

Without any approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in South Korea, the heightened Kimchi premium suggests retail spot purchases are driving the surge.

Surge in Bitcoin addresses worth at least $10

Reflecting the growing retail enthusiasm, the tally of Bitcoin addresses holding a minimum value of $10 has attained a fresh all-time high, surpassing 35 million on March 6 as per Coinglass figures, hinting at broadened retail involvement.

Global online search interest for Bitcoin has kept its high level, with an average of 80 from March 3 to March 9, a 31% rise over the previous year’s average of 61 when Bitcoin was valued near $20,000, Google Trends data shows.

In tandem with the trending search interest, Bitcoin transfers to Coinbase are inching toward the highs of 2022, suggesting investor momentum toward potential profit realization. However, such peaks in transfer activities aren’t exclusive to bull market summits as the 2016–2017 phase indicates.

Please note this article does not serve as investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move entails risk, and readers should undertake their own research when deciding.