Bitcoin Retail Interest Surges, Boosting BTC Spot Trading Volume to 12-Month High

Bitcoin (BTC) Spot Trading Volume Hits Record High as Retail Investors Show Increased Interest

On March 5, Bitcoin (BTC) spot trading volume on centralized exchanges reached a new high of $46.26 billion, indicating a growing number of retail investors entering the world’s first cryptocurrency market.

With the rise of crypto trends and the availability of top-rated platforms such as Coinbase, it’s no surprise that more people are turning to crypto for their investment needs. In fact, Google searches for “crypto best” and “crypto app best” have been on the rise as more people seek out the best sites for trading and buying cryptocurrencies online.

If you’re looking to get started in the world of crypto, Coinbase is widely considered to be one of the best options for beginners, offering a user-friendly interface and a wide variety of coins to choose from. And for those seeking advice and discussions on the best crypto options, Reddit is a popular platform for sharing information and insights.

The Current State of Bitcoin Trading Volume

Bitcoin trading volume has reached a new yearly high, with Binance dominating the market at $18 billion in daily volume, accounting for over 74% of the total on March 6.

According to Mallika Kollar, quantitative research associate at Bitwise, this surge in volume is a result of increased buying activity, with spot trading volume up by 680% since the beginning of the year.

At the same time, spot Bitcoin ETFs have also seen a record high in daily inflows, with 10 U.S. ETFs hitting $10 billion in trading volume on March 5, surpassing last week’s record of $7.7 billion.

Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg ETF analyst, commented on the impressive numbers, stating that these ETFs are seeing unprecedented success in just under two months since their launch.

The rise in trading volume across exchanges and ETFs has also contributed to Bitcoin’s latest all-time high of $69,200 on March 5. At 1:30 pm UTC, the cryptocurrency was trading at $66,878, up 1.09% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

In South Korea, retail interest in Bitcoin is on the rise, as evidenced by the Kimchi premium, also known as the Korea premium index, which reached $72,000 on March 5 on Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. This premium has been on an upward trend since early February, in line with the rising BTC price.

As South Korea does not have any approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, it is likely that retail spot buying is the main driving force behind the premium.

The Number of Bitcoin Addresses Worth at Least $10 Reaches New Highs

The number of addresses holding at least $10 worth of Bitcoin has hit a record high of over 35 million on March 6, according to data from Coinglass. This suggests a growing interest from retail investors in the cryptocurrency market.

In line with this trend, online searches for Bitcoin remain high, with a worldwide average of 80 between March 3 and March 9. This marks a 31% increase from a year ago when the price was around $20,000, according to data from Google Trends.

Furthermore, the number of Bitcoin transfers to Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based exchange, is approaching its 2022 peak, as shown in the chart above. This indicates that investors may be preparing to cash out at current price levels. However, previous spikes have not only occurred during market tops, as seen in 2016-2017.