Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Declines in April Amid Geopolitical Tensions and ETF Outflows

Cryptocurrency trading volume took a hit in April, marking the first decline in seven months as various factors weighed on the digital assets market. According to a report by London-based digital assets data provider CCData, the cumulative volume in spot and derivatives markets dropped by 43.8% to $6.58 trillion, a significant decrease from March’s record high of $9.12 trillion.

Derivatives saw a larger decline in investor activity, with the futures and options market volume falling by 47.6% to $4.57 trillion. The spot market volume also experienced a drop of 32.6% to $2.01 trillion.

The decline in trading volume was attributed to unexpected macroeconomic data, escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and negative net flows from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, saw a nearly 15% drop to under $60,000, ending a seven-month winning streak.

The CoinDesk 20 Index, which measures the most liquid digital assets, traded nearly 20% lower, and the total crypto market capitalization slipped by 16.8% to $2.177 trillion.

Despite Binance remaining the largest crypto exchange by volume, its combined spot and derivatives market share fell to 41.5%. The exchange’s spot market trading volume decreased by 39.2% to $679 billion in April, marking the first decline since September 2023.

The decline in Binance’s market share coincided with the news of its founder and previous CEO, Changpeng Zhao, being sentenced to four months in prison for violating U.S. money laundering laws. Zhao stepped down as CEO in November and was replaced by Richard Teng. Since then, Binance’s spot market share has increased from 30.8% to 33.8%, according to CCData.