(Bloomberg) — The share of Bitcoin trading that occurs during US market hours has reached an all-time high, accounting for 46% of this year’s cumulative volume through April, according to a cryptocurrency research firm.
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The research suggests that the higher share of trading may be linked to the January launch of spot-Bitcoin exchange traded funds, since volume has increased near the beginning and close of US trading hours, according to Kaiko Research. The ETFs calculate their net asset values each weekday at the close of US stock exchanges, which Kaiko said boosts price discovery and arbitrage trading. Thursday was the day of the week with the highest share of trading during these hours, with close to 15% of the cumulative daily volume, Kaiko found.
The ETFs have attracted almost $13 billion in net inflows since they launched four months ago, making them one of the most-successful product category debuts in the history of the industry. The demand has slowed recently, with only a net $925 million flowing into the funds so far in May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lately, the crypto market has become fixated with prospects for US regulators to approve or reject ETFs that invest directly in Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency. A decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission on at least one spot-Ether ETF application is due by May 23.
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While Bitcoin trading volume during US hours has mostly recovered to 2022 levels, volume during Asian trading hours remains significantly lower, Kaiko also found.
The performance of Bitcoin during US market hours also shows the cryptocurrency’s volatility is muted when compared with previous hours, according to Toby Winterflood, chief product officer of CCData
“That literally shows you the impact that these ETFs have had, not only on Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P, but also its potential de-correlation with other altcoins and other cryptos,” Winterflood said. “I don’t think we’ll necessarily see that change until potentially ETH, for example, also gets approved for an ETF.”
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