Bitcoin Trading Volume Drops as Holiday Season Draws Near
Crypto trading slows as Bitcoin falls below $42,000; market cools off with traders eyeing U.S. ETF approval and holiday season.
Crypto trading activity dropped over the last non-holiday weekend of the year, causing experts to predict that 2023's rally toward a high might be over as traders take profits before the holiday season. The biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin dropped below $42,000, currently trading at $41,158. Ethereum, the second-largest crypto, also fell to $2,172.
In the past 2 months, Bitcoin drove the market rally due to excitement for a potential U.S. spot ETF approval. However, trading volume dropped by 60% last week, and even whales known for accumulating slowly held back from trading.
Bitcoin inflows to exchanges also fell sharply, from 45,269 BTC to 15,675, showing a drop in trading activities. In the derivatives market, interest in Bitcoin futures declined, with Open Interest (OI) dropping by 9% to $16.95 billion.
Market experts see this drop as a possible short-term change rather than a long-term trend. Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, suggests the current level may hold as the holiday season approaches. He anticipates a crypto surge in 2024 once Bitcoin ETFs get final approval.
