Binance’s market share in the bitcoin spot market continues to slide – suggesting the war on crypto is taking its toll on the world’s largest exchange.
Shifting Bitcoin Spot Volume Dynamics
Head of Research, CoinShares james butterfillPosted a chart of bitcoin spot volume by centralized exchange (CEX) market share.
It showed five specific CEXs and an additional category labeled “other”, but did not specify the other CEXs that made up this category.
Since 2022, Binance’s share of the bitcoin spot market is expected to grow from 20% to 85% by February 2023. Since March, the dramatic decline has seen a 50% decline, currently down to around 40%.
It was noted that, as early as 2022, “other” CEXs had half of the bitcoin spot market – declining as Binance’s dominance grew. However, the “other” CEX has been making a strong comeback since March.
Coinbase and OKEx are emerging as major winners amid the shifting market dynamics – reclaiming their former glory, as seen in early 2022.
CFTC sues Binance
On March 27, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed charges against Binance, the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), and compliance head Samuel Lim on charges of violating commodity regulations.
Around this time, several CEXs also came under regulatory action, including Kraken – which in February was hit with charges for failing to register its staking service as a security product with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). agreed to a $30 million settlement.
Similarly, Coinbase received an SEC Wells notice in March notifying the company of pending litigation. At the time, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said he was confident the company was acting legally and “welcomes the legal process.”
coinbase last month sued on SEC agency to compel its stake decision making process, Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal commented that the agency had not provided clear guidelines on how the law applied to companies operating in the crypto sector.
The frequency of enforcement actions – in conjunction with unclear regulations – has led some to conclude that US regulators are waging a war on crypto.
Last week, binance announced that it was leaving the Canadian market, saying that it could no longer operate in the region. Similarly, CZ He said he is considering ways to reduce his stake in Binance US – suggesting an intention to focus on other jurisdictions.
