Increased Liquidity in 2024
Throughout 2024, liquidity has surged across US crypto exchanges. As sentiment improved, trading volumes also increased. Notably, BTC markets in the US experienced significant growth compared to offshore exchanges. This rise is likely due to the approval of spot BTC ETFs, encouraging more institutional participation.
BTC Market Share Expansion
US exchanges now hold over 60% of BTC’s 1% market depth. This is a notable increase from around 45% at the beginning of 2023. Additionally, BTC trade volume relative to altcoins has grown on US exchanges while declining on offshore platforms. Historically, US exchanges have had higher BTC dominance due to greater institutional participation. Despite BTC’s price drop in Q2, its share on US markets kept rising. The launch of spot ETFs might further amplify this trend.
ETH Market Trends
In contrast, offshore exchanges have gained ground in ETH’s 1% market depth since January. Although US exchanges’ market share peaked at 70% in March, it has since dropped to 56%. The approval and launch of spot ETH ETFs in the US could reverse this trend as more institutional firms begin trading ETH.
Current Market Conditions
However, this shift might take time as summer usually brings a slow trading period. Both ETH volume and depth remained flat after the recent launch of spot ETFs. ETH’s 0.1% market depth edged up to $18 million but did not reach June’s highs of $23 million. Interestingly, ETH bid depth has been surpassing ask depth on US platforms like Kraken and Bitstamp.
Market Dynamics and Future Outlook
An increase in bid depth typically signals a buildup of buy limit orders. However, ETH prices declined post-launch, indicating selling pressures. This suggests a complex interplay of market forces affecting ETH’s performance despite the increased bid depth.
