- The flagship crypto asset tussles with credit card giants by volume.
- On-chain intelligence platforms report a huge monthly drop in holders.
- Long liquidations soar despite Bitcoin inking double-digit gains in 7 days.
As traditional finance continues to embrace cryptocurrency via hybrid products, such as Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or crypto debit cards, the leading digital asset will become as demanded as the most established credit and debit card providers.
BTC, the bellwether asset of the crypto economy, has massively spiked in trading volume. This has put Bitcoin in the same class as Mastercard and Visa, the two largest credit and debit card issuers worldwide.
Bitcoin Hems $46.4B, But Thereโs Room to Grow
Since 2023, Bitcoin has enjoyed a steady uptick in Spot trading volume, bringing it toe to toe with Visa and MasterCard. The traditional payment giants boast daily transaction volumes of $38.9b for Visa and $24.7b for MasterCard, but as of July 18, 2024, both are eclipsed by BTC, which weighs in at $46.4b as of press time.
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Visaโs unfiltered transaction volume is $38.9 billion per day, while Mastercardโs is $24.7 billion.
Despite ousting the two popular card providers, Bitcoin is still netting a considerably lower trading volume than that of gold or the SPX stock market index. Gold and the S&P 500 garner approximately $162.6 billion and $253 billion per day, according to data from Glassnode.
Bitcoinโs Sharp Holder Drop: Bullish or Bearish?
The latest on-chain stats from Santiment, a blockchain intelligence platform, suggest a concerning trend. In comparison to last month, Bitcoinโs holder count has been slashed by 672,510.
At 53.84 million, Bitcoinโs holder stats hint at the average traderโs belief that BTC wonโt repeat the bull cycle peak price of $73,097.77 this year. Accomplished in March 2024, the flagship digital asset traded sideways since the milestone and is currently 12.3% behind the all-time highs set on March 14, 2024.
โWhen we see mass liquidations like this, the probability of a continued rebound only increases,โ explains Santiment on X. Some traders responded to the sharp drop in BTC holders with a similar explanation: that the crypto enthusiasts leaving BTC are aping into the altcoin season.
While this shifting sentiment is tangible due to the crypto fear and greed index turning the tables completely in four days, Bitcoinโs lowering holder count isnโt necessarily bearish. As the altcoin market is more attributable to risk and price fluctuations than Bitcoin, investor sentiment shifted from 25, indicating strong fear, to 69, hinting at substantial greed.
According to IntoTheBlockโs ownership stats, BTC saw steady growth in HODLers, or cryptocurrency investors who have held their assets for more than a year. With an all-time high of 37.67 million long-term holders set in July 2024, Bitcoinโs loss of holder count mostly comes from traders, classified as accounts that hold BTC for up to one month.
On the Flipside
- While Bitcoinโs price grew by 11.3% over the most recent 7-day period, BTC recorded twice as many long-position liquidations as short ones.
- To illustrate, according to real-time data from CoinGlass, BTC’s movement triggered $23.57M in long liquidations and $12.65M in shorts in a 24-hour window.
Why This Matters
The rising transaction volume ascribes Bitcoin to the same asset class as gold, as BTC can be utilized as both a long-term investment and a means of transaction.
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