The recovery in digital assets since early April has seen a significant shift in activity, as Asian trading hours gained market share in global spot trading volumes for Bitcoin $BTC , Ether $ETH , and Solana $SOL .
, while the U.S. steadily loses ground.
The share of U.S. trading hours from the spot trading volume of the three main tokens fell below 45% on a 30-day simple moving average, after peaking at a record level of over 55% at the beginning of 2025, according to data tracked by the institutional cryptocurrency brokerage firm Fal,,conX. The recent reading is the lowest since Donald Trump, a pro-crypto candidate, won the presidential election in November.
Meanwhile, Asian trading hours now account for nearly 30% of global activity, while Europe accounts for the remainder.
Slower activity during the U.S. period reflects a change in the mix of investors driving price movements.
David Lawant, head of research, said in a memo shared with CoinDesk: "This may indicate increased influence from non-U.S. wallet flows or that American investors are focusing more on markets outside of spot cryptocurrencies."
The value of Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has risen by 40% to $105,000 since it hit a low of below $75,000 in early April, according to CoinDesk data. Ether and Solana also increased by 87% and 68%, respectively, during the same period.
Bitcoin rally with low trading volume
Despite Bitcoin's price reaching new record levels, global spot trading activity has yet to recover to the levels seen earlier this year.
The average daily volume in spot Bitcoin markets, which exceeded $15 billion on a 30-day moving average after the November elections, declined during the April sell-off and has since remained below $10 billion.
A small-sized rally is often seen as a bear trap. However, this is not necessarily the case this time, as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recently gained popularity as investment tools.
Cumulative volume in the 11 U.S. listed spot Bitcoin ETFs rose from about 25% of the global spot Bitcoin market volume to a record 45% in less than two months.
The increase in ETF volumes primarily stems from bold directional bets rather than non-directional bets such as cash and carry trades, which involve a long position in the ETF and a simultaneous short position in Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
The 11 spot ETFs have gathered net inflows of $44 billion since their launch in January 2024, with BlackRock's IB,IT fund, the largest among all funds, attracting $6.35 billion in May, the highest since January 2025, indicating increasing institutional demand for Bitcoin amid trade tensions and disruptions in the bond market.
Lawant said: "All of this points to room for growth and suggests that ETFs are likely to remain a major force behind demand in this rally."
#MyCOSTrade #BinanceAlphaAlert
🇾🇪🇾🇪🇾🇪🇾🇪🇾🇪