Report Reveals Bitcoin Experiences Its Third-Highest Trading Volume Quarter in Three Years

In the first three months of 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) recorded its third-highest quarterly performance in the last three years, as highlighted in an analysis by the cryptocurrency data aggregation service Kaiko.

The top cryptocurrency by market cap saw its trading volumes soar to over $1.4 trillion from January through March 2024, as disclosed in a recent report.

Robust Growth in Bitcoin Trade Volumes

The initial quarter of 2024 marked a significant milestone for Bitcoin trading, achieving the highest volume in 12 months. The total of $1.4 trillion for the quarter surpassed the previous two years’ volumes by a whopping 107%, eclipsing the fourth quarter of 2023’s $674 billion.

Trading volumes of this magnitude were last seen in the first half of 2021, with Q1 and Q2 reaching $1.93 trillion and $2.16 trillion, respectively. The fourth quarter of 2021 also saw a notable peak with $1.37 trillion in trades.

According to Kaiko, the upswing in trade volumes during the quarter indicates a higher level of market activity and enhanced trader engagement. This uptick is particularly significant in light of the previous year’s maximum volume peaking at $1.1 trillion in Q1, after the market’s recovery from a prolonged bearish phase.

While large, centralized exchanges such as OKX and Bybit experienced a bump in trading volume, it was the minor Asian marketplaces—Bithumb, Korbit, Bitflyer, and Zaif—that noted the most substantial relative surge in volume.

Impact of Direct Bitcoin ETF Offerings

Boosting Bitcoin’s impressive run in the past quarter was the introduction of direct Bitcoin ETFs in the US market. The ETFs experienced strong investor demand, which in turn propelled BTC’s price, resulting in a closing quarterly increase of 64%—its third-strongest quarter within a three-year period.

The highest gain in a quarter for Bitcoin remains in Q1 2021 with 101%, while the next highest was in Q1 2023, ending at 71%.

The recent quarter also saw the 60-day correlation between Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies dip to the lowest it’s been in years. Kaiko suggested that the decline could be due to liquidity competition among altcoins while Bitcoin experienced a surge of capital inflow due to the spot ETFs debuting.

Despite significant drops in correlation for meme tokens and digital assets tied to artificial intelligence, Uniswap’s UNI token experienced the greatest decrease in correlation following volatility stimulated by a new governance proposal.