In March, cryptocurrency trading volume increased to its highest level in history

Cryptocurrencies had an exciting month in March, with trading volumes rising to an all-time high.

According to a JPMorgan research report, trading volumes in March were nearly twice as high as the previous month, matching the performance of the first quarter of 2024 when compared to the last quarter of 2023. .

Citing TradingView data, the Average Daily Volume (ADV) of the entire cryptocurrency market increased 87% month over month. CCData's figures point to even more significant growth, especially in altcoin trading volume.

Cryptocurrency market capitalization increased 19% in March, showing continued growth albeit at a slower pace compared to the previous month. Some altcoins have even outperformed major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of growth, but overall, double-digit growth is still seen across the broader ecosystem.

'Total cryptocurrency market capitalization remained above the $2 trillion threshold throughout March. At one point mid-month it hit $2.6 trillion before stabilizing at around $2.5 trillion by the end of the month ', the JPMorgan report pointed out.

In March, average daily volume across total cryptocurrency market capitalization increased 87% month-over-month and 133% year-over-year. Unlike the slowing trend in February, it appears transaction speeds have picked up meaningfully in March, JPMorgan analysts said.

The legal landscape in the US is still the focus of market attention in March with a number of important updates. While there is still a lack of clear regulatory guidance, March still saw a number of important legal moves and court decisions related to the cryptocurrency industry, including charges against Coinbase and a few other big names.

JPMorgan noted that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will continue its "regulation by enforcement" approach and this will also affect market dynamics in the near term.

The DeFi sector also saw expansion, driven by an increase in Total Value Locked (TVL) on Ethereum Layer 2 solutions following the successful Dencun upgrade mid-month for expansion. ecosystem capacity and reduced transaction fees.

Meanwhile, net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs remained positive in March, but slowed to $4.6 billion from February's $6.1 billion, even though Bitcoin broke out to a high. The new all-time high was over 73,000 USD in the middle of the month.

Bitcoin's rise in price initially drove increased ETF inflows, but this trend appeared to ease as Bitcoin price began trading sideways after reaching a record high.

Bitcoin mining profitability improved by an estimated 33% in March. This was driven by a 37% month-over-month increase in the average Bitcoin price, outpacing growth in network hashrate. However, profits are expected to decrease in April due to the upcoming Bitcoin Halving, which will reduce the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 Bitcoin.

Lesley Montoya

Update 06 April 2024