Upbit, a South Korean exchange, sees a 73% monthly drop in trading volume, signaling the end of the altcoin frenzy?

With significant drops in various cryptocurrencies appearing last night, the trading volume of Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, has plummeted by 75% in less than a month. However, upon closer inspection, the spot and contract trading volumes of major exchanges have also seen a significant decline, hinting at an upcoming trend.

The revival of the US manufacturing sector affects rate cut expectations, causing Bitcoin to drop to 68K at one point.

Upbit Trading Volume Drops by 70%

Coingecko data shows that the trading volume of the South Korean exchange Upbit plummeted by 73% in the past month, decreasing from a peak of around $14 billion on March 5th to $3.8 billion at the time of writing.

Additionally, Coinglass data also indicates a significant 7-day trading volume drop for public chains including BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, TON, averaging around 20%, with only some stablecoins and meme coins showing positive growth. This suggests a reduction in capital inflow into various public chains and a shift towards the altcoin frenzy.

A similar trend is observed in the current contract trading volumes of major exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Bybit, which have decreased by 50% to 70% since their historical highs on March 5th to 6th.

As one of the main markets for altcoin enthusiasts, the significant weakening and even flattening of Upbit's trading volume are particularly noteworthy, raising questions in the market about whether altcoins other than Bitcoin and Ethereum can reach new highs.

BTC and ETH Trading Volume Accounts for Only 11%

As a country known for its cryptocurrency trading, South Korean crypto enthusiasts have traditionally focused more on altcoins rather than the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Reportedly, the BTC/KRW and ETH/KRW trading pairs only account for 11.3% of the 24-hour trading volume in the market, with more popular trading pairs in the country being Doge, Ankr, Wave, and Bitcoin Cash.

Previously, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges led by Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone saw a daily trading volume of up to 16.34 trillion Korean won, approximately $12.5 billion, two weeks ago, while the country's stock market trading volume was 20.8 trillion Korean won, around $15.88 billion, showing a vibrant market performance.

Crypto Trading Volume in South Korea Nearing Stock Market Levels

Anticipating Major Volatility?

Reports yesterday from crypto market makers DWF Labs and Matrixport also highlighted the aforementioned phenomenon, suggesting that the anticipation of L2 upgrades for Ethereum has weakened the speculative frenzy surrounding meme coins on various chains.

DWF Labs Co-founder Andrei Grachev believes that the slowdown in capital flow may be a precursor to significant market volatility.

DWF Labs notes a sudden 50% drop in spot trading volume, Matrixport raises concerns about the momentum of altcoins