As the bitcoin price surged past $7,550 to establish a new 2019 high, the daily volume of the dominant cryptocurrency on BitMEX hit $10 billion.
New record for BitMEX trading volume. Praise be to volatility and our wonderful traders! pic.twitter.com/iLMGdpz65n
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) May 12, 2019
Arthur Hayes, the CEO at BitMEX, the most widely utilized margin trading platform by bitcoin traders, revealed that the daily volume of bitcoin on BitMEX surpassed $10 billion on a Sunday, which was especially surprising given that the cryptocurrency market historically has shown a dip volume during the weekend.
Interest in Bitcoin is Surging Again
With the verifiable daily spot volume of bitcoin at over $1.9 billion, up by nearly 9-fold since March, and the daily volume of BTC at over $10 billion on BitMEX, the daily volume of the cryptocurrency market is nearing that of the 2017 peak during which the bitcoin price achieved $20,000.
Two days ago, Multicoin Capital general partner Vinny Lingham stated that if the bitcoin hold the $6,200 level for more than 24 hours, the start of a new bull market can be confirmed.
“If Bitcoin can hold the $6200 level for the next 24-48 hours, then the bear market is officially over and I’m going to become a raging bull!” he said.
Other analysts including global markets analyst Alex Krüger similarly stated that BTC is currently in a bull market territory following its move from $5,500 to over $7,000 within a span of one week.
$BTC now in bull market territory after an intraday blow-off top.
R: 7000, 8000
S: 6400, 6000Old levels not as valuable, hence why above 6400 only looking at round numbers as major resistance.
Hourly volume at Bitmex was the 2nd largest ever after Sep/5/18. pic.twitter.com/ANmIIDJVf1
— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) May 11, 2019
In the weeks to come, BTC is likely to see extreme volatility, as the volumes of major cryptocurrency exchanges recover and the demand for the asset rises in various markets such as the bitcoin futures market.
Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), a regulated investment vehicle that enables investors to invest in bitcoin in a transparent and strictly overseen environment, has also seen record high volumes as of late.
Trading volume on Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (symbol: $GBTC) exceeded $50 million today and was again the most actively traded stock on @OTCMarkets OTCQX https://t.co/wcaCcYNIqg
— Barry Silbert (@barrysilbert) May 10, 2019
Despite the 53 percent increase in the bitcoin price in the past 30 days, the trend of the search engine keyword “bitcoin” has not recovered relative to the increase in the price of the asset, indicating that the mainstream and the broader market have not triggered the bull run of the asset.
The trend of bitcoin on Google remains low (source: Google Trends)
Analysts have suggested that investors within the cryptocurrency market have become increasingly comfortable and confident with the trend of the major crypto assets, allocating capital into the asset class as the market began to demonstrate signs of full recovery.
Sustainability of Volume is Key
In the near-term, some traders expect bitcoin to engage in a healthy pullback, slightly retracing from its recent price surge.
“Anybody trying to convince you that $BTC is about to retrace 30% is just salty they missed the current bullish advance. We’ll get a healthy retrace, but not 30%,” Satoshi Flipper, a cryptocurrency trader, said.
For the asset to initiate a minor pullback that may serve as the foundation of the next rally, it is crucial for the volume of the asset across major exchanges to remain at the current level throughout the near-term.