Crypto Derivative Volumes Jumped in January

• Crypto derivative volumes grew 76.1% from December to $2.04 trillion in January, representing 70.3% of the entire crypto market
• Bitcoin and Ether saw sizable gains of 40% and 32%, respectively, suggesting speculation rather than accumulation
• Binance was the largest derivatives exchange in January with $1.26 trillion, followed by Bybit with a 115% increase to $301 billion

Crypto Market Activity Grew Quickly in January

January saw a surge in trading activity across the board for both spot markets and derivatives exchanges. According to data from CryptoCompare, derivatives volume was up 76.1% from December to $2.04 trillion – accounting for 70.3% of the entire crypto market – while spot markets increased 67%. This suggests that speculation was behind sizable gains for bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), which rose 40% and 32%, respectively, during the same period.

Binance Leads as Largest Derivatives Exchange

Binance continued as the largest derivatives exchange in January with $1.26 trillion in volume, followed by Bybit which had a 115% increase to $301 billion – making it the only integrated derivative exchange with triple-digit month-on-month growth and its highest-ever market share at 14.6%. Meanwhile, spot markets were led by Binance, Coinbase and Kraken which recorded large volume increases of their own during the same period.

Speculation Behind Price Increases

The significant trading activity increases seen across both spot markets and derivatives exchanges suggests that price increases were driven primarily by speculation rather than accumulation according to CryptoCompare’s report on the matter. This is further supported by BTC’s strong performance despite no new institutional buying or major onchain movements during this time period.

Conclusion

Overall, January marked an active month for cryptocurrency trading activity with large gains being made across both spot markets and derivatives exchanges due largely to speculation rather than accumulation according to data from CryptoCompare