December Volume Report: Top Markets See Strongest Trade of H2 2018

The five most traded cryptocurrency markets saw an increase in volume during December, when compared with the previous month. Despite the spike in trading activity posted by the dominant markets, many crypto assets ranked below the top five saw a decline in month-over-month volume.

USDT and Top Altcoin Markets See Volume Increase

Tether (USDT) has continued to see a rise in month-over-month volume, likely reflecting the increase in altcoin trading that has taken place in recent months. December saw $115.7 billion worth of USDT change hands, a roughly 8.5% increase over last month, and a 66% increase when compared with October’s volume. This past month comprised the strongest month of trade during the second half of 2018.

$68.2 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH) was traded during December, up 16% month-over-month, and 65.5% since October. ETH also posted the strongest volume for the second half of 2018.

XRP Sees Drop-Off in Volume

Ripple (XRP) was among the few leading altcoin markets to see a reduction in monthly trade activity during December, with nearly $17.3 billion worth of XRP changing hands. Despite volume dropping 21% month-over-month, December produced the second-strongest 30-day volume for XRP pairings of the second half of 2018.

Litecoin (LTC) has held its position as the sixth-ranked cryptocurrency by monthly volume, producing $13.2 billion worth of trade during December. LTC saw a slight gain over November’s $13 billion, making December the strongest month of trade for the latter half of the year.

BCH and ETC See Recession in Monthly Volume

December saw Qtum (QTUM) rank eighth by 30-day volume, placing it in the top 10 for the first time since June. QTUM pairing generated approximately $4.4 billion worth of trade for the second consecutive month during December.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) was the ninth-most traded cryptocurrency of December, comprising its weakest ranking since May. ETC pairings produced roughly $4.23, down 20% from November’s $5.27 billion.

Dash Holds Position in Top 10

Zcash (ZEC) ascended two ranks by monthly volume, placing 11th with $3.78 billion worth of ZEC changing hands in the last 30 days. Despite moving up the rankings, total trade activity for ZEC pairings dropped by 7.5%

Bitcoin SV (BSV) pairing produced $3.74 billion worth of trade during December, moving it from 14th to 12th by 30-day volume. BS saw a 14.5% increase in trade activity when compared with November’s $3.27 billion.

NEO, XLM and TRX See Increase in Trade Activity

Stellar (XLM) saw a significant increase in trade activity during December, moving up one position to rank as the 14th-most traded cryptocurrency. $3.29 worth of XLM was traded during the last 30 days, the strongest month of trade for the second half of 2018 and a 20% increase over November’s $2.74 billion.

Tron (TRX) pairings produced $2.97 billion in trade this past month, ranking it as the 15th-most traded cryptocurrency. TRX saw a roughly 23% gain in 30-day volume when compared with last month’s $2.42 billion.

Stablecoins Increasingly Crowd Volume Leaderboard

Paxos standard token (PAX) ranked 17th by monthly volume during December, producing $2.03 billion in trade over the last 30 days. PAX posted an approximately 32% gain in trade activity month-over-month.

Trueusd (TUSD) retained its position as the 18th-most traded crypto asset during December, with TUSD pairing generating $1.44 billion in trade. TUSD trade activity increased by roughly 45% when compared with November’s $995.5 million.

BIT-Z token (BZ), an in-house token traded on Bit-Z exchange, ranked among most traded cryptocurrencies for the first time during December, placing 19th with a 30-day volume of $1.02 billion.

Waves (WAVES) also placed as a top-ranking cryptocurrency by trade volume during December, ranking 20th with nearly $920 million worth of Waves changing hands.