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Bitcoin Held in Exchange Wallets Rising at Pace of $1.16B a Month, Data Show
The inflow comes as bitcoin has gained 7% this month, extending October's 28% rally.
Updated Nov 20, 2023, 7:02 a.m. Published Nov 20, 2023, 7:02 a.m.
Bitcoin [BTC] stashed in wallets tied to centralized cryptocurrency exchanges is rising at the fastest pace since May, hinting at a potential bull pause in the market.
Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode's bitcoin exchange net position change metric, which measures the number of coins held by exchange wallets on a specific date compared to the same date four weeks ago, rose to 31,382.43 BTC ($1.16 billion) on Sunday, the highest since May 11, 2023. That has lifted the total balance held on exchanges to 2.35 million BTC.
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An inflow into exchange wallets is widely taken to represent investors' intention to liquidate their holdings, a potential selling pressure, or deploy coins as a margin in futures and options markets. Meanwhile, an outflow represents accumulation.
The BTC exchange net position change has been consistently positive since Nov. 1. Historically, such periods have coincided with bull market breathers or price pullbacks.
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That said, the latest inflow could also signify renewed investor confidence in centralized exchanges.
The safety of coins held in exchange wallets came into question late last year after Sam Bankman Fried's FTX exchange collapsed, which, at the time, was the third largest. That saw investors move coins off exchanges and into their direct custody.
Bitcoin changed hands at $37,170 at press time, according to CoinDesk Indices data, having put in a high of $31,517 late Sunday, supposedly on the back of BTC-supportive Javier Milei's victory in Argentina's Presidential elections.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value has gained 7.5% this month, extending October's 28% rise, CoinDesk data show.
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Exchange Review - March 2025
CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.
What to know:
Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.
- Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
- Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions.
- Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.
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