Bitcoin trading volume falls to lowest point since 2019

Bitcoin’s trading volume on spot markets has fallen to its lowest point in over six years. According to a Glassnode analysis, investors are trading less and less actively, while the market is in a technically sensitive price range. Historically, the current bear market is the shallowest ever measured in terms of price decline, but it has not lasted long enough to confirm a bottom.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• Bitcoin spot volume falls to the lowest level since 2019, around 60,000 BTC per day.
• The three-month futures basis rate has been below the US two-year yield since February, driving institutional investors towards government bonds.
• Bitcoin is in a cost basis range of $62.000 to $68.000, with $69.000 as the resistance level.

Spot volume at lowest level in years

Glassnode measures trading volume in numbers of Bitcoin rather than dollars, so that a lower price does not artificially drag the figures down. Seen that way, spot volume is currently falling to around 60,000 BTC per day, the lowest point since 2019. Even if the influence of Binance is left aside, which temporarily inflated volumes in 2022 and 2023 through a free trading campaign, the picture remains largely the same. Volume is then slightly above the low point of the previous bear market, but the trend is clearly downward.

The inflow via Bitcoin ETFs and activity on exchanges are also lagging. Low volume says little about the direction of the price, but it does say something about who is still active in the market. Glassnode concludes that a large part of market participants is currently on the sidelines, waiting.

Institutions choose government bonds over Bitcoin futures

A striking signal in the report is the persistent inversion of the three-month futures basis rate. Since February, this rate has been below the US two-year yield, and according to Glassnode this is only the second time it has lasted this long. The result is that institutional players get more return from ordinary government bonds than from Bitcoin futures strategies, causing them to park their capital elsewhere.

That has direct consequences for demand for Bitcoin. Where institutional investors were previously active in the futures market, many are now choosing the relative certainty of government bonds. Glassnode’s risk model is therefore at mild “Risk Off”, indicating that the market is cautious but not yet in panic. More background on the broader contraction of the crypto market in the first half of 2026 provides additional context for this movement.

Bitcoin price stuck between $62.000 and $69.000

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is at $63K, down 2.7% in the past 24 hours. That puts Bitcoin in the middle of what Glassnode describes as an important cost basis range, between $62.000 and $68.000. In this range lie many positions of investors who are at or just above their average purchase price.

The $69.000 level serves as the main resistance. As long as Bitcoin does not break above it, the market remains technically vulnerable. At the same time, Glassnode states that the current bear market is the shallowest ever recorded in terms of maximum price decline. That sounds reassuring, but the analysis firm warns that the downturn has not lasted long enough to speak of a confirmed bottom. Earlier, Bitcoin already shifted from speculators to long-term holders, which is usually a hallmark of a later phase in a bear market.