trading volume

OKX NFT Marketplace tops Blur and OpenSea in daily trading volume

OKX NFT Marketplace recorded a 24-hour trading volume of $50 million on Dec. 18, surpassing its competitors in the NFT space.

Crypto exchange OKX’s nonfungible token (NFT) arm surpassed the 24-hour trading volume of other prominent NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Blur and Magic Eden. 

On Dec. 18, the OKX NFT Marketplace recorded a daily trading volume of around $50 million at around 10:00 am UTC, according to decentralized applications (DApp) data tracker DappRadar. 

At the time of writing, the platform’s trading volume has dropped to $35 million. However, OKX NFT Marketplace is still ahead of its competitors Blur, Magic Eden and OpenSea, which have a combined 24-hour trading volume of around $24 million. 

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Binance’s market share drops on CFTC suit and no-fee trading halt: Report

Binance’s market dominance fell largely due to its decision to end zero-fee trading for some trading pairs and not the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s lawsuit, says blockchain analytics platform Kaiko.

The dominance of cryptocurrency exchange Binance in trading volume market share has slipped over the past two weeks following a lawsuit from the United States commodities regulator and its decision to halt some zero-fee trading.

In an April 4 newsletter, blockchain analytics platform Kaiko reported that Binance “lost 16% market share of trade volume,” with its market share at 54% as of the end of Q1.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance on March 27, alleging it flouted regulatory compliance and violated derivatives laws by offering trading to U.S. customers without registering with market regulators.

Kaiko said Binance still takes in more volume than the rest of its combined competitors, but its March 15 decision to end zero-fee spot and margin trading for 13 trading pairs, including BNB (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) with multiple fiat currencies and stablecoins, led to a loss in trading volume.

“Overall, Binance’s excess volume largely vanished with the end of zero-fee trading, which was reflected in an even dispersal in market share among the remaining exchanges,” Kaiko reported.

Binance’s market share trading volume among the top centralized exchanges fell to 54% by the end of the first quarter. Source: Kaiko

Kaiko explained part of this fall was alleviated by its U.S. arm, Binance.US, which managed to triple its market share over the quarter from 8% to 24%.

Binance didn’t fall excessively in every domain, though. The exchange managed to largely maintain its derivatives dominance, only giving up 2% market share over the last quarter.

Kaiko explained that the fall in trading volume figures was influenced mostly by the end of zero-fee spot trading as opposed to the CFTC lawsuit:

“The trend is quite different when looking at derivatives volumes: Binance only lost about 2% of market share for perpetual futures trade volume. This suggests that the majority of market share was lost purely due to the end of zero-fee spot trading, rather than trepidations around a lawsuit.”

The market share fall to 54% comes after Binance was one of the “big winners” of the FTX fiasco, which saw its market share in trading volume rise to 65% during the last quarter of 2022:

“Binance’s market share increased from 50% to 65% after November 2022, while OKX saw its market share increase from under 10% to 17%. Bybit and the three smaller exchanges Huobi, Bitmex and Deribit, on the other hand, saw their market share decline.”

Over the last quarter, Upbit was the only crypto exchange that reclaimed a “significant share” in trading volume of the 17 trading platforms that Kaiko analyzed.

Related: DEXs growing faster than CEXs but Binance still sees 171M visitors in a month

In light of recent regulatory pressures, the banking crises and the catastrophic collapse of FTX, many reports have observed a growing trend towards decentralized alternatives and self-custody wallets.

Bitcoin and Ether left centralized exchanges in record numbers following the fall of FTX. The daily trading volume of decentralized perpetual exchanges also reached $5 billion in November 2022, the most since Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) and its connected TerraClassicUSD (USTC) stablecoin collapsed in May 2022.

Trading volumes on the decentralized exchange Uniswap are now rivaling that of crypto exchanges Coinbase and OKX but are still only a fraction of that processed by Binance.

Magazine: Can you trust crypto exchanges after the collapse of FTX?

DeFi enjoys prolific start to 2023: DappRadar report

DeFi protocols have seen significant growth in total value locked in January, with Lido Finance leading the charge.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols experienced a boom in total value locked across different staking pools in January. The market hit $74.6 billion worth of staked assets, increasing by 26% from December.

In its latest monthly report, DappRadar outlined the growth of the DeFi sector alongside rejuvenated nonfungible token (NFT) markets that have also had upticks in trading volume and sales.

Optimism emerges as the top DeFi performer, seeing a 57.44% increase in total value locked (TVL) at $808 million. Blockchain Analyst Sara Gherghelas told Cointelegraph that Optimism’s transaction volumes were likely driven by a “learn-to-earn” incentives program that ended midway through January.

A sudden drop in daily transactions on Jan. 17 suggests that educational incentive programs might play a role in driving DeFi adoption and onboarding, as Gherghelas explained:

“By providing a hands-on learning experience, these incentives can help users gain a deeper understanding of DeFi technologies and the potential benefits they offer, thereby driving greater adoption and usage of DeFi products and services.”

Solana saw a 57% increase in its TVL to reach $548 million, driven by Marinade Finance’s introduction of a token incentive scheme rewarding SOL depositors with liquid staking derivative mSOL. The protocol reached $152 million TVL between December and January.

It’s not all positive for the Solana ecosystem, though, with platform Everlend announcing its closure on Feb. 1, citing a lack of liquidity for shutting down its service.

Related: NFT sales topped 101 million in 2022: DappRadar report

Ethereum’s upcoming Shanghai upgrade is also driving staking in DeFi due to the expected opening of withdrawals from Ethereum staking contracts. Lido Finance flipped Maker DAO as the largest DeFi protocol in January, driven by the popularity of liquid staking derivative protocols.

According to Gherghelas, Lido’s liquid staking solutions have proven to be a major drawcard for users looking to maximize staking returns.

“What sets Lido apart from other DeFi protocols is its innovative staking solution, which allows users to access liquid Ether staking without committing to the traditional 32 ETH minimum.”

Lido saw over $8 billion worth of value staked in its platform, an increase of over 36% since December 2022. Gherghelas highlighted the recent rally in cryptocurrency markets contributing to the increase in DeFi’s TVL:

“The crypto market has been bullish, leading to an increase in investor confidence and an inflow of capital into the DeFi space.”

NFTs have also enjoyed a resurgent start to the year. Trading volume reached $946 million, marking a 38% increase month on month and the highest trading volume seen since June 2022.

Ethereum still dominates the NFT market, accounting for 78.5% of total trading volume at a value of $659 million in January. Yuga Labs enjoyed a good month, with $324 million in trading volume from its exclusive collections.

NFT collections DeGods and Monkey Kingdom helped drive a 23% increase in Solana’s NFT trading volume. Meanwhile, Polygon saw a significant 124% jump in its NFT trading volume and a total of 4.5 million NFT sales, driven in part by the Collect Donald Trump Cards.

As Cointelegraph explored at the end of 2022, unique active wallet data comparing 2022 to 2021 showed a 50% increase, with DeFi, NFTs and blockchain gaming-driven activity and trading volumes.

Nifty News: ‘Degen’ season returns with feet NFTs, disappointing Game of Thrones NFTs and more

Foot fetishists and crypto degens have taken an interest in an NFT collection boasting 10,000 unique pixelated trotters with over $1 million in trading volume.

‘Degen’ season smells like pixelated feet

Feetpix.wtf’s newly launched nonfungible token (NFT) collection, “Feetpix,” has seemingly taken the NFT community by storm with surging trading volumes, prompting some to suggest the return of “degen” season.

Feetpix.wtf’s collection soared ahead of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) on Jan. 11 with the fifth-highest trading volume recorded on NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Feetpix NFTs come in different skin tones, nail colors, shoes and backgrounds. Image: OpenSea.

The project — which released 10,000 Feetpix NFTs — has traded over 825 Ether (ETH) ($1,157,000) across nearly 18,000 transactions since its release on Jan. 8.

Crypto Twitter is still split on what inspired the surge in foot fetish-NFT trading volumes. However, Feetpix noted the absence of a roadmap, promise and marketing scheme, suggesting a “love for feet” is not just legitimate but also clearly monetizable through digital art.

Several Twitter users highlighted the absurd, short-term success of the project, suggesting a return of “degen szn” (season), which entailed a mass trading volume of high-risk NFT collectibles at the bull markets peak in 2021.

But even the creators themselves implied something could be mentally wrong with collectors, suggesting buyers “stop buying feetpix” and instead “use that money for therapy.”

Game of Thrones NFTs: ‘Worst thing I’ve ever seen’

The highly anticipated Game of Thrones “Build Your Realm” NFT collection launch has received a hefty dose of criticism despite ultimately selling out in seven hours on the NFT marketplace, Nifty’s.

The pseudonymous co-founder of Web3 gaming project Treeverse, Loopify, described the collection on Jan. 11 as the “worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

Loopify told their 200,000 Twitter followers in a separate post that some avatars possessed “salad fingers.”

NFT enthusiast Justin Taylor shared his criticism with his nearly 60,000 Twitter followers, stating the launch lacked “creative vision” and was outright “terrible.”

The first series NFT collection was born from a collaboration between Nifty’s and NFT production company Daz 3D, where each NFT is minted on Palm — an Ethereum-compatible sidechain — allowing collectors to create their own unique realms and avatars.

While the fast sellout came as little surprise due to the show’s popularity, many collectors reported issues with the minting process and widespread disappointment with the poorly designed avatars.

Yuga Labs announces skill-based NFT mint

Yuga Labs — the creative team behind the BAYC — is set to expand its NFT ecosystem by launching a skill-based NFT game called “Dookey Dash.”

In order to participate, BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) holders will need to mint a “Sewer Pass” on Jan. 17 in order to start playing the game on Jan. 18.

The aim of the game will be to navigate the sewer, claim as many NFT rewards as possible and record the highest score until Feb. 8, when the leaderboard freezes.

“Sewer Pass holders will compete for the highest score and earn their new power source,” the BAYC wrote, adding, “the highest single-run score on your specific Sewer Pass and accompanying wallet that achieved the run will determine what it reveals.”

Cast your vote now!

However, it’s unclear what the prizes will consist of with Yuga stating on BAYC’s Twitter account that prizes will “evolve throughout 2023.”

The four-week Dookey Dash experiment also appears to be the first part of a narrative experience, with segments “It’s Alive!” and “Chapter 1” expected to proceed with the “Sewer Close” on Feb. 8, according to a roadmap set out by Yuga.

Tennis Australia still playing ball with NFTs

Tennis Australia has confirmed it’s still investing in the NFT space by continuing its Australian Open (AO) Artball NFT collection created last year as a means to engage NFT collectors and tennis fanatics.

The Artball NFT serves to “leverage live match data to deepen global fan engagement beyond a tournament” through the digital realm, according to the Artball website.

With 6,776 Australian Open Artballs sold in last year’s collection, an additional 2,454 Artballs will hit the market in time for the 2023 tournament, which officially kicks off Monday, Jan. 16 in Melbourne.

According to the website each Australian Open ArtBall is linked to live match data corresponding to a 17cm by 17cm plot on the court.

If a winning shot from any match lands on a collector’s plot, the NFT metadata will be updated in real time and the collector will be rewarded.

One of the special ArtBalls is Artball SuperSight which enables an entire suite of exclusive 360-degree front-row viewing tools, a 3D stats explorer and personalized streams that has been “custom built” for members.

Collectors will also be in the running to win two free tickets to the equivalent live match in AO24 if their Artball scores a “Match Point” in AO23, in addition to being granted access to “exclusive behind-the-scenes streams.”

AO Artball holders can win themselves tickets to AO2024 if certain conditions are met. Source: Australian Open Artball.io.

Artball minting is currently subject to a waitlist, according to the AOmetaverse Twitter page.

Other Nifty News:

NFT platform Upshot has created a trading tool that scores and classifies wallets based on their trading success, which will enable crypto newcomers to get a closer look into the strategies adopted by successful collectors.

Blockchain security firm SlowMist revealed that a sneaky trick scammers used in 2022 to steal NFTs was a “zero dollar purchase” scam, where victims were tricked into signing over NFTs for basically no cost in a fake sales order. Scammers then purchased the NFTs through a marketplace, at a price they determined.

Ethereum domain names top Bored Apes on OpenSea’s weekly chart

Ahead of the upcoming Merge, ENS domains have reached the top of OpenSea’s seven-day chart in trading volume.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain names have surpassed Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) as the most traded asset on nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea over the last seven days — seemingly ahead of the Ethereum Merge. 

According to OpenSea data, the weekly volume of the Ethereum domain NFTs eclipsed 2,249 Ether (ETH) at the time of writing, beating out RTFKT Clone X at 1,992 ETH and Bored Ape Yacht Club at 1,777 ETH.

ENS domains are a distributed, open and expandable naming system on the Ethereum blockchain that allows users to turn a long string of keys for a crypto address into a single ENS domain such as “vitalik.eth.”

This simplifies the complexity of copying and pasting a lengthy wallet address to send and receive crypto, as users only need to share their domain name like any other ordinary address.

These domain names can be bought, sold and traded between users in the form of NFTs.

The recent spike in ENS trading volume has seen the average price of ENS items increase 167% to 0.3895 ETH, or $641 at the time of writing, while daily volume has risen from 120.7 ETH to 1044.6 ETH.

There are now over 2 million ENS items on OpenSea spread among more than 508,000 owners, with total sales now sitting at 2,682 ENS domains sold.

60-Day Average Price Change For ENS on OpenSea. Source: OpenSea.

According to OpenSea, some of the most expensive ENS domain names are 000.eth, which was bought for 300 ETH and is on sale for 5,000 ETH, along with opensea.eth, crypto.eth, google.eth and nike.eth.

The strong start in September follows an impressive ENS sales month in August, which saw more than 300,000 new “.eth” registrations and monthly revenue of 2,744 ETH, the third-highest month since ENS was founded in 2018.

The spike in ENS domain name demand comes a little over a week before the scheduled date of the Ethereum Merge, which is scheduled for around Sept. 15.

Related: Ethereum Name Service registrations surge by 200% amid lower gas fees

On Sunday, Vitalik Buterin asked his 4.2 million followers what price tag a five-letter ENS domain name should hold over a 100-year period:

The poll found that 49.8% of the 91,130 voters went with “Under $100,” while 18.9% of voters thought “$10,000 or more” could be considered a fair price.

According to OpenSea, the average price of an ENS domain is 0.3207 ETH, or $533.71. 

ETH products grow in August as BTC products dip: CryptoCompare report

The upcoming Merge has contributed to a rise in Ethereum investment products and trading volume, as crypto market AUM figures continue to drop amid the bear market

Ethereum investment products increased by 2.36% to $6.81 billion in assets under management (AUM) throughout August, outperforming Bitcoin products which saw a 7.16% drop off to $17.4 billion. 

The figures were contained in a new report by CryptoCompare.

This was also reflected in the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) product trading volumes, with Grayscale’s most notable Bitcoin product, GBTC, experiencing a 24.4% drop in volume while its Ethereum product, GETH, actually increased by 23.2%. CryptoCompare’s report suggested that the highly anticipated Ethereum Merge was the cause behind the change in trading volumes:

“Indeed, even at a more granular level, no Bitcoin products covered in this report saw AUM or volume gains in the month of August. We could be seeing interest move away from Bitcoin in the short term, as Ethereum-based products hold the attention with the much-anticipated merge on the horizon.”

Monthly AUM figures for digital asset investment products fell 4% overall, which was largely attributed to a 6% fall from Grayscale’s GBTC product, as it accounts for $13.4 billion of the total $25.8 billion of digital assets under management at 53.4%.

The largest inflows came from products falling under the “Other” umbrella, representing non-Bitcoin and Ether products, which saw a 12.3% increase to $1.13 billion over the first three weeks, according to the report.

Monthly AUM figures for digital asset investment products have steadily dropped throughout the bear market. Source: Crypto Compare.

Despite the bear market, a number of highly-regarded financial institutions have launched crypto investment products throughout the month of August. These products have come in the form of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded certificates (ETC), exchange-traded notes (ETN) and trust products.

Among the most notable was BlackRock’s private spot Bitcoin Trust, a move that brought about a “here comes Wall Street” response from former Grayscale CEO Barry Silbert. The launch of the Bitcoin Trust from the world’s largest asset manager came following its partnership with Coinbase to provide its clients with institutional trading services.

Charles Schwab was another financial institution to make a play this month, having launched its own “Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF” tickered STCE on the New York Stock Exchange, which provides exposure to a mix of mining and staking companies, along with several blockchain-based applications.

Related: Institutions flocking to Ethereum for 7 straight weeks as Merge nears: Report

BetaShares launched Australia’s first Metaverse-focused ETF on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), along with a new Metaverse- and nonfungible token (NFT)-focused ETF launched by finance firm SoFi.