Bitcoin weekend trading volume hits historic low! NFT and metaverse token trading volume drops nearly 90% within the month.

As the prices in the cryptocurrency market have been in a slump in recent months, research firm Kaiko pointed out that the launch of Bitcoin spot ETF products may be one of the reasons, potentially leading to reduced market volatility. Additionally, the Ethereum and Bitcoin NFT markets are both facing a sharp decline in trading volume, resulting in a bleak market situation.

Bitcoin Weekend Trading Volume Hits Historic Low

Historically, liquidity in the crypto market tends to experience significant fluctuations over the weekend when the U.S. stock market is closed. However, a report by Kaiko last week pointed out that the weekend trading volume for Bitcoin has dropped to an all-time low.

As shown in the chart above, the percentage of Bitcoin weekend trading volume compared to the total weekly volume has decreased from a high of 28% in 2019 to the current 16%.

Kaiko and Bloomberg Point to Reasons: Bitcoin Spot ETF Launch, Closure of Crypto-Friendly Banks

Kaiko attributes the decline to the launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs, claiming that more new investors are restricted by ETF trading only being available on weekdays:

The decline in weekend trading volume has been a trend for several years, but ETFs have reinforced this trend.

On the other hand, Bloomberg suggests that the collapse of crypto-friendly banks such as Signature and Silicon Valley Bank last year has also contributed to the decrease. This not only lost support for a market that trades 24/7 but also led to a loss of a certain number of crypto investors:

Since these financial channels were forced to close, market makers are less willing to provide liquidity in a low-volume market environment.

Thus, these two institutions and media indirectly provide a reasonable explanation for the current relatively bleak and uninteresting market conditions.

Crypto Market Faces Selling Pressure: Outflow of Spot ETFs, Decrease in Mining Company Reserves, Government Agencies Selling

NFT S2 Trading Volume Decreases by 40% Compared to Last Quarter

The bleakness is not only seen in the cryptocurrency market but also reflected in the NFT market, which has been on a continuous decline.

NFT Market Slumps, Trading Activity Dwindles, Huang Licheng Calls for Adjustment of Blur Mining Rules

CryptoSlam data shows that NFT trading volume has dropped from $41.4 billion in the first quarter of this year to $23.2 billion in the second quarter, a decrease of about 44%.

Looking back at the overall heat of the NFT market, in contrast to the significant bull market led by Bitcoin in the crypto market last year, the market has not seen the same prosperity as in 2021.

Apollo Crypto's investment director attributes this to the political meme coin frenzy this year based on the U.S. election, which has taken away attention from NFTs:

On the other hand, considering that many Bitcoin L2s are thriving, we believe that Bitcoin Ordinals may continue to dominate the focus and market share of the NFT field.

Meme Coins Evolution Theory: Meme coins have become mainstream in the market, replacing NFTs as the entry point for the general public

Rune and Ordinals Trading Volume Drops by 90% in June

However, the fact is that Bitcoin NFTs including Ordinals and Runes have not garnered much attention at present.

Data from Dune shows that the trading volume of Runes has decreased by 88% from its peak in June, BRC-20 has decreased by 97% from its peak in March, and Ordinals has dropped by 50%.

More surprisingly, Ordinals and Runes have contributed less than 2 Bitcoins in trading fees to the Bitcoin market per day in the past week, a far cry from the record-setting 884 Bitcoins on April 24.

Rune market cap approaches $1 billion, but lacks recent growth momentum

Initially hyped as a new source of income for Bitcoin miners from Ordinals, BRC-20 to Runes protocols, it was hoped that they would lead miners through the challenges after the fourth Bitcoin halving event. However, in terms of transaction fees alone, it seems that the three protocols and token standards mentioned above have not really made an impact.