Bitcoin (BTC) experienced its highest spot trading volume in a year on March 5, reaching a combined daily volume of $46.26 billion. This indicates that more retail investors are entering the market and purchasing the first-ever cryptocurrency.
The trading volume cooled down to $31.32 billion on March 6, with Binance accounting for over 74% of the daily volume. Spot trading volume has surged approximately 680% since the beginning of the year, according to Mallika Kollar, a quantitative research associate at Bitwise.
The record trading volume coincided with a new all-time high in daily inflows for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On March 5, the 10 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs achieved a record $10 billion in daily trading volume, surpassing the previous week’s $7.7 billion record. Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, described these numbers as exceptional for ETFs that are less than two months old.
The surge in volumes across exchanges and ETFs propelled the price of Bitcoin to a new all-time high of over $69,200 on March 5. At 1:30 pm UTC on March 6, Bitcoin was up 1.09% and trading at $66,878.
Retail interest in Bitcoin is also increasing in South Korea, where the price reached $72,000 (based on the KRW/USD exchange rate) on March 5 on Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. This price discrepancy, known as the Kimchi premium, has been on an upward trend along with the BTC price since early February. Since South Korea has no approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, retail spot buying is likely the primary driver of the premium.
The number of Bitcoin addresses holding at least $10 worth of the cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high of over 35 million on March 6, indicating increased participation from retail investors. Additionally, online search trends for Bitcoin remain high, with average global searches increasing by over 31% compared to a year ago when the price was around $20,000, according to Google Trends data.
Furthermore, the number of Bitcoin transfers to Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based exchange, is nearing its 2022 highs. This suggests that investors may be preparing to take profits at the current price levels, although previous spikes in transfers have occurred during bull market tops.
It is essential to note that this article does not provide investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading decisions involve risks, and readers should conduct their own research before making any decisions.