A metric tracking how much Bitcoin is being bought and sold has slid to a 30-month low as the largest digital asset holds below $30,000.
The seven-day average of Bitcoin spot trading volume on July 22 was the least since around the start of 2021 amid subdued price swings, K33 Research said.
“The crypto market currently finds itself in a proper summer slumber,” Head of Research Bendik Schei and Senior Analyst Vetle Lunde wrote in a note. “Nonetheless, lengthy slowdown periods have a tendency to be followed by surging volatility enhanced by overleveraged traders conditioned for a low-volatility environment.”
Bitcoin’s year-to-date rebound — fueled in part by optimism that the US may allow spot exchange-traded funds investing directly in the token — has cooled and traders are now assessing where the next price catalyst may come from.
Read more: Bitcoin Retreat Puts Crypto’s 2023 Lead Over Stocks in Jeopardy
Investors are awaiting an expected Federal Reserve interest-rate hike on Wednesday. Some commentators are optimistic that a global wave of monetary tightening is coming to an end as inflation moderates. Any such signals from the Fed could bolster global markets.
K33 Research said Bitcoin activity could pick up in August and September as regulators decide whether to approve the spot ETF applications in the US.
“We are seeing renewed interest from relative value players to position for a larger move towards the end of the third quarter,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of digital-asset derivatives liquidity provider OrBit Markets.
Bitcoin, which has retreated about 4% this month, was marginally higher at $29,302 as of 9:54 a.m. in New York on Wednesday. Smaller tokens like Ether and BNB were also little changed. Bitcoin’s 2023 jump stands at about 77%, compared some 90% earlier in July.
--With assistance from Suvashree Ghosh.
