Decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid has consistently outperformed traditional finance giants in terms of volume and net income.

DefiLlama data estimates Hyperliquid’s annualized net income at $1.24 billion as of Sept. 12, exceeding Nasdaq’s $1.12 billion net income for the entirety of 2024 by 11%.

The comparison positions the DeFi platform ahead of one of the world’s largest stock exchanges in net income, despite operating with just 11 team members.

Additionally, data from ASXN shows Nasdaq employed 9,162 people in 2024, producing a net income per employee ratio of $123,335.52.

Hyperliquid’s 11-person team generates approximately $113 million per employee, establishing the highest net income-to-employee ratio in global financial markets.

Volumes surpass Robinhood

The trading protocol posted $420.3 billion in total trading volume during August, extending its winning streak against Robinhood to four consecutive months.

Robinhood published August trading figures on Sept. 11, revealing $227.5 billion in total volume across all products.

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The breakdown included $199.2 billion from equity trading, $195.5 million from options contracts, $13.7 billion from crypto trading in the Robinhood App, and $14.4 billion from crypto trading on the Bitstamp exchange.

Hyperliquid processed $398 billion in perpetual contracts and $22.3 billion in spot trading during the same period, creating a $170.5 billion volume advantage over the retail trading platform. The August performance marks the platform’s strongest monthly showing since beginning its winning streak against Robinhood.

The volume comparison traces back to May, when Hyperliquid first overtook Robinhood with $256 billion versus $192 billion, according to data shared by Jon Ma from Artemis.

June volumes reached $231 billion for Hyperliquid compared to Robinhood’s $193 billion, followed by July’s $330.8 billion versus $237.8 billion performance. Its July advantage represented its largest monthly gap at 39.1% before August’s results widened the margin further to nearly 85%.

Amid these results, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token registered a new all-time high of $57.30 on Sept. 12, up roughly 760% from its launch price of $6.51 on Nov. 28, 2024.

The platform continues to demonstrate how decentralized exchanges can compete directly with established retail trading platforms while maintaining lean operational structures that generate outsized returns per employee.

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Hyperliquid is slowly building a name within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. In August, the platform recorded nearly $400 billion in perpetual trading volume and more than $106 million in revenue, according to DefiLlama.

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This milestone not only cements Hyperliquid’s dominance in the decentralized perpetuals market, where it now controls around 70% of market share, but also signals growing adoption by both retail and institutional investors.

A key driver of this success is its proprietary HyperEVM blockchain, designed for speed, scalability, and zero gas fees. These features replicate the performance of centralized exchanges while maintaining DeFi’s transparency and user custody, making Hyperliquid an appealing alternative to platforms like Binance or Solana-based DEXs.

Whale Activity and Market Sentiment

Despite its strong fundamentals, HYPE, the platform’s native token, is facing volatility. Currently trading around $44, HYPE has retraced from the $51 mark but remains on track for a possible breakout. Analysts point to resistance at $48.73, with upside targets at $52, $55, and even $73 if bullish momentum persists.

HYPE's price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: HYPEUSD on Tradingview

Whale activity has added intrigue to the token’s outlook. Recently, a whale deposited over $3 million USDC into Hyperliquid and opened a leveraged short against HYPE, sparking debate about near-term price action.

While shorts suggest caution, derivatives data shows rising open interest and a slight long bias, hinting at sustained optimism among traders.

Can Hyperliquid Become the Next “Killer App”?

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has gone as far as calling Hyperliquid a “decentralized Binance,” projecting the HYPE token could rise over 100x if adoption keeps pace. The launch of a 21Shares Hyperliquid ETP on the SIX Swiss Exchange also signals mounting institutional confidence.

Still, challenges remain. Hyperliquid has faced brief outages and accusations of whale manipulation in newly launched futures markets. To counter this, the team has implemented stricter safeguards, including tighter price caps and external data integrations. These moves aim to balance rapid growth with market integrity.

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With trading volumes surging, institutional adoption growing, and technical indicators hinting at a potential HYPE breakout toward $55, Hyperliquid stands at a defining moment. If it maintains momentum while addressing risks, it could cement itself as crypto’s next true “killer app.”

Cover image from ChatGPT, HYPEUSD chart on Tradingview

Decentralized exchanges (DEX) processed a combined $1.15 trillion in spot and perpetual contract volumes during August, marking the first time monthly DEX activity surpassed the $1 trillion threshold.

According to DefiLlama data, spot DEX volumes reached $506.3 billion in August, falling just $1.5 billion short of the all-time high of $507.8 billion recorded in January.

The August figure represents an 18.4% increase from July’s trading activity, demonstrating sustained growth in on-chain spot trading.

Perpetual contract volumes drove the record-breaking performance, reaching $648.6 billion in August, a 31.3% jump from July and an absolute all-time high for the derivative product category.

The perpetuals surge accounted for 56.4% of total DEX volume during the month.

Ethereum reclaims spot leadership

August marked the first time since March that Ethereum overtook Solana and BNB Chain in spot on-chain trading volume.

Ethereum processed $140.4 billion in monthly spot volume, while Solana registered nearly $120 billion. BNB Chain rounded out the top three with approximately $60 billion in spot trading activity.

Uniswap maintained its position as the dominant spot DEX protocol, capturing 28.2% of total volumes with over $143 billion processed in August. PancakeSwap secured second place with $56.6 billion, while Hyperliquid completed the top three with $21.7 billion in spot volume.

The perpetual landscape showed even greater concentration, with Hyperliquid establishing absolute dominance by capturing 62.5% of the market through its $405.8 billion in monthly volume.

Ethereum-based perpetual protocols processed $72.5 billion, securing second place, while BNB Chain platforms generated $55.1 billion.

Among other perpetual protocols, edgeX captured $43.6 billion in trading volume, while Orderly processed $23.7 billion during August.

The spot volume increase drove the DEX-to-CEX trading ratio up by 0.7% to 17.2% in August. Throughout 2025, this ratio has consistently remained above 10%, indicating sustained adoption of on-chain trading infrastructure.

These numbers indicate a growing acceptance of decentralized trading venues, potentially driven by improved user experience across major DEX platforms.

The $1.1 trillion monthly volume achievement positions decentralized exchanges as a permanent fixture in the cryptocurrency market structure, with perpetuals trading finally receiving attention similar to that of their centralized counterparts.

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Trading Volume May Signal Tops & Bottoms For Bitcoin

In a new post on X, Santiment has talked about a pattern associated with the trading volume of Bitcoin. The “trading volume” here refers to a metric that keeps track of the total amount of the cryptocurrency that’s becoming involved in trading activities on the various centralized exchanges.

When the value of this metric is high, it means the traders are making a large number of moves on the market. Such a trend suggests interest in the asset is high. On the other hand, the indicator having a low value implies investors may not be paying much attention to the cryptocurrency as they are participating in a low amount of activity.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the trading volume for Bitcoin and other top coins in the sector over the last few months:

In the above graph, Santiment has highlighted two large spikes in the trading volume of Bitcoin. The first of these, involving a movement of $84.08 billion in the asset, occurred at the start of April. Interestingly, this spike coincided with BTC’s tariff-driven dip. The other spike took place just earlier this month and saw the indicator hit a high of $90.90 billion. This time, the elevated trading volume came alongside BTC’s new all-time high (ATH) above the $124,000 level.

“Note that the two largest volume spikes from Bitcoin signaled the optimal time to buy (as prices were falling) and sell (as prices peaked to a new ATH),” explains the analytics firm.

What could be the explanation behind the pattern? Generally, the higher the trading activity, the more likely BTC is to observe some kind of volatility. This is because the moves being made by investors act as fuel for price moves.

Where the emerging volatility may lead the asset is hard to say based on the trading volume data alone, as it doesn’t separate between buying and selling moves. Spikes that come near price lows, however, can be signs of buying. This is what happened in April. Similarly, a particularly sharp uptick in activity after rallies, like the one seen earlier in the month, can be a sign of profit-taking.

At present, Bitcoin trading volume remains elevated, but its current value of $66 billion is clearly still a step below the levels seen during the aforementioned turnarounds.

BTC Price

Bitcoin has been facing sustained bearish momentum recently as its price has gradually been sliding down, with its latest value coming at $113,000.

Binance’s trading volume in 2025 has reached levels exceeding the combined totals of its leading competitors, marking a new phase in the concentration of exchange activity.

Data compiled by CryptoQuant shows Binance handling up to double the trading volume of all other exchanges combined, a development that is raising questions about the structure of liquidity in global markets.

Per TokenInsight data, Binance recorded approximately $8.39 trillion in trading volume during the first quarter of 2025, accounting for 36.5% of global activity despite a decline in overall market volume.

During Q1, Binance’s average daily trading volume stood near $36.6 billion, compared to Bybit’s $7.9 billion, OKX’s $6.5 billion, and Coinbase’s $5.6 billion, placing it several multiples ahead of rivals. Research from CryptoQuant further recorded that Binance’s spot trading volume for the year had surpassed $1.9 trillion, outpacing Coinbase, Crypto.com, and OKX combined.

Market share concentration became more pronounced by midyear. Binance’s spot trading volume was nearly eight times higher than Coinbase’s, securing a market share of roughly 42%.

By June, Binance’s spot trading activity approached the combined total of all other exchanges, a rare scenario not seen since early 2024, when Bitcoin surged past $70,000.

The platform’s strength spans multiple areas beyond spot trading. Mid-2025 performance extended into futures markets, stablecoin flows, capital inflows, and on-chain metrics.

During Bitcoin’s all-time high this summer, Binance recorded nearly twice the total trading volume of all competitors combined, even as broader market activity slowed.

This level of concentration carries market implications. European Securities and Markets Authority officials have previously warned of systemic risks when a single platform processes a disproportionate share of trading volume, describing it as a “considerable concern” in regulatory communications reported by Reuters in April 2024.

Market structure is further shaped by liquidity distribution. While Binance leads in spot trading, other platforms such as OKX surpass it in liquidation volumes, reflecting different risk dynamics across venues.

The historical pattern of Binance’s dominance coinciding with price movement also remains in focus. A similar volume imbalance in early 2024 preceded a steep rise in Bitcoin’s price. The question looms as to whether high trading concentration might again affect directional momentum in major assets.

The scale of activity also intersects with regulatory oversight. In late 2023, some interpreted the U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Binance as an acknowledgment of the exchange’s position as too large to unwind without broader market disruption. That perception has carried forward into 2025 as the exchange extends its dominance despite market contraction.

Daily and quarterly figures reveal the magnitude of the gap. Binance’s $36.6 billion daily average places it nearly nine times larger than Coinbase, while its 42% spot market share marked the highest in ten months.

As of press time, volumes are down across the industry, but Binance’s trading volumes still match or surpass those of all competitors, redefining the balance of the exchange landscape in 2025.

The concentration of activity illustrates the degree to which one platform has become the primary gateway for liquidity, shaping both opportunities and risks in global digital asset markets.

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Dogecoin slid overnight, erasing gains despite heavy institutional accumulation, as $782 million in trading volume overwhelmed support levels and sent the token into correction mode.
The move came alongside broad crypto liquidations, reflecting heightened macro pressure.

News Background

• Dogecoin dropped from $0.23 to $0.22 in a 24-hour window ending August 19 at 04:00, marking a 4% decline.
• A sharp liquidation wave hit between 03:00-04:00, where volumes spiked to 782 million DOGE — nearly double the daily average.
• The decline occurred as industry-wide liquidations topped $1 billion, triggered by U.S. inflation prints beating expectations and denting Fed rate-cut hopes.
• Despite the drop, institutional buyers have accumulated 2 billion DOGE worth about $500 million this week, bringing total reported holdings to 27.6 billion.

Price Action Summary

• DOGE traded within a $0.01 band, reflecting 5% intraday volatility.
• Overnight crash drove the token to test $0.22 support, now viewed as the key level to defend.
• A late-session rebound attempt lifted prices modestly back toward $0.22, signaling demand at the lows.
• Resistance is building near $0.23, where profit-taking and heavy sell orders reappear.

Technical Analysis

• Breakdown from $0.23 invalidates prior bullish structure, with $0.22 emerging as new short-term floor.
• Volume surge of 782 million DOGE validates capitulation selling — a potential precursor to bottom formation.
• Support: $0.22 (critical), followed by $0.21 if pressure persists.
• Resistance: $0.23 (immediate), $0.25 (major breakout threshold).
• Indicators suggest mixed signals: RSI approaching oversold, but momentum remains negative.

What Traders Are Watching

• Whether institutional accumulation continues if $0.22 cracks — signaling smart money conviction or retreat.
• Broader market risk sentiment: equity weakness and macro headwinds remain the dominant driver.
• $1 billion+ in crypto liquidations highlight fragility; another macro shock could deepen downside.
• A reclaim of $0.23 would be seen as a short-term reversal trigger, otherwise $0.21 support test is likely.

US-based spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) just logged their strongest week of combined trading volume yet, according to an ETF analyst.

“Biggest week ever for them, thanks to Ether ETFs stepping up big,” ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an X post on Friday.

Ether ETFs were “asleep” for 11 months, says Balchunas

“Ether ETFs’ weekly volume was about $17b, blowing away record, man did it wake up in July,” Balchunas said.

It came the same week Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high of $124,000 on Thursday, while Ether (ETH) came close to reclaiming its November 2021 high of $4,878 on the same day, reaching $4,784 — just 1.94% below — according to CoinMarketCap.

Since Thursday, Bitcoin has fallen 5.52% from its all-time high, trading at $117,659, while Ether has dropped 6.20% from its Thursday high, trading at $4,486.

However, MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said, “There’s way more to come for this cycle.”

Ether ETFs take a sharp turn

On Monday, spot Ether ETFs recorded their biggest day of net inflows ever, with flows across all funds totalling $1.01 billion. Across the first two weeks of August, they’ve recorded more than $3 billion in net inflows marking their second-strongest monthly performance to date.

Balchunas said it was almost as if Ether ETFs were “asleep” for the past 11 months and “then crammed” one year’s worth of activity into six weeks. 

While there was excitement ahead of their July 2024 launch, Ether ETFs initially saw lackluster demand, sparking speculation that Wall Street had yet to find a clear use case for the asset.

Related: Ether bull flag targets $6K as ETH supply on exchanges falls to 12%

Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs reached new highs of $73,679 just two months after launching in January 2024.

Analysts are now drawing parallels between Ether’s recent price surge and Bitcoin’s post-ETF rally. 

“This move is comparable to the BTC ETF launch, when Bitcoin continued to rally upward,” van de Poppe said, adding, “The ETFs have a massive impact and there’s a lot to come for Altcoins.”

However, some analysts warn that investors must be patient before Ether reaches a new all-time high.

Nansen analyst Jake Kennis said in comments shared with Cointelegraph that a new all-time high for Ether may be weeks or months away, despite ETH currently sitting only a few hundred dollars off a new record price.

Magazine: Altcoin season 2025 is almost here… but the rules have changed

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-and-ether-etfs-post-40b-volume-in-biggest-week-ever/feed/ 0 53443 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-btc-sell-volume-hits-3-13-billion-in-one-hour-whats-happening/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-btc-sell-volume-hits-3-13-billion-in-one-hour-whats-happening/#respond Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:42:54 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-btc-sell-volume-hits-3-13-billion-in-one-hour-whats-happening/

The broad cryptocurrency market is experiencing an insane bloodbath as prices of leading cryptocurrencies suddenly flip negative. Amid this sharp downtrend, Bitcoin has seen an aggressive increase in sell activities on August 14, according to data shared by a CryptoQuant analyst.

Per the data provided, Bitcoin’s taker sell volume across crypto exchanges has surged significantly, hitting a massive $3.13 billion in just one hour.

Bitcoin falls below $118,000

Although the reason behind the sudden flip in market sentiment remains unclear, the dramatic price downturn has shaken market confidence as momentum appears to be broken.

While Bitcoin had started the day on a positive note with its price showing notable daily gains, the sudden shift in market sentiment has seen traders dramatically open streaks of sell orders.

Following the sudden flip in price action, Bitcoin saw its price fall as low as $117,698 after recording a notable intraday high of $124,210 on the same day.

The significant drop in Bitcoin’s price over the last few hours coincides with Bitcoin’s taker volume exploding to multiple billions in minutes. The rapid shift in activity is unusual, as sudden surges in sell activities like this have been rarely recorded in Bitcoin’s trading history.

Although the reason behind the sudden flip in market sentiment remains unclear, the dramatic price downturn has shaken market confidence as momentum appears to be broken.

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Amid the notable Bitcoin sell-side pressure, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization has seen its trading volume surge notably by 29.61% over the last 24 hours. This suggests that the market has been dominated by retail and institutional sellers.

Notably, the downtrend in Bitcoin’s price is currently on pause as data from CoinMarketCap shows that it has remained steady around $117,968 for the past few hours until press time. Meanwhile, Bitcoin showed a price decline of 3.06% over the last day.

While the surge in Bitcoin’s sell volume was preceded by a notable price rally that saw the asset record massive intraday gains in the past days, the attempts to sell off Bitcoin holdings experienced today suggest traders are taking decisive actions to lock in profits achieved during the recent market rally.

Nonetheless, market watchers have expressed optimism for a potential rebound in the prices of leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins. However, investors fear that the asset’s price might plunge harder if the ongoing selling pressure continues to outweigh demand for BTC, delaying the possibility of a new all-time high soon.

Bitcoin’s USD spot market posted a coordinated 3.65% gain over the past 24 hours, with trading activity dominated by Coinbase and price moves unfolding in lockstep across the major USD venues.

The session analyzed by CryptoSlate, on Aug. 11, 09:40 CEST, provides a clear look at where USD liquidity sits and how it shapes the flow of the market.

Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, and Binance’s BTCUSD pair saw a combined $981.93 million in rolling 24-hour USD volume.

These four exchanges capture the core of Bitcoin’s USD spot market. Binance is the largest exchange globally in terms of total crypto volume, but most of its trading is in USDT and other stablecoin pairs, while Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp handle the bulk of direct USD volume.

Including Binance’s BTCUSD pair alongside the three USD-heavy venues gives a fuller picture of price formation and liquidity in the dollar-denominated segment of the market.

Coinbase handled the bulk of this with $544.47 million, more than half the total. Kraken followed with $207.70 million, Bitstamp with $174.86 million, and Binance trailed with $54.90 million. This imbalance means the center of gravity for USD price discovery rests firmly with Coinbase.

Most large trades in this market will either pass through Coinbase directly or anchor their pricing to it. Kraken and Bitstamp add meaningful secondary depth, while Binance’s USD pair plays a minor role compared to its much larger USDT markets.

Prices across the four moved together, showing a strong, consistent upward push. Coinbase ended the period at $121,782.48, up 3.53%. Kraken closed at $121,762.00, up 3.49%, Bitstamp at $121,763.00, up 3.50%, and Binance at $121,598.17, up 4.10%.

The equal-weighted average price across the venues climbed from $117,435.57 to $121,726.41. Daily ranges were wide but orderly: Binance led with a $5,388.18 swing (4.62%), while Bitstamp and Coinbase both moved about $4,679 (3.98%), and Kraken’s range was $4,571.70 (3.89%).

The spark for the day’s rally hit at 04:00 CEST, when all four venues recorded their largest five-minute session gains. Prices at that moment were separated by just $113.62 from top to bottom, a sign of how closely aligned the books were when the move began.

The synchronized nature of the spike tells us that a broad catalyst affected prices, rather than a single exchange leading and the rest following.

Even in a clean uptrend, the differences between venues matter. The median spread between the highest and lowest quotes in the sample was $678.40, with a 95th percentile of $917.04. Binance’s median deviation from the average price was 42 basis points, far greater than Kraken’s 11.6 bps or Bitstamp’s and Coinbase’s ~14 bps.

That gap is more than a quirk of the data; it affects execution costs. Traders routing across all venues without price filters risk paying hundreds of dollars more per Bitcoin than necessary if they hit the wrong side of a broader market.

These liquidity patterns have knock-on effects. With so much USD flow running through Coinbase, its order book naturally acts as a reference point. Price moves there tend to ripple outward, influencing quotes on other venues, especially those that rely on aggregated feeds.

Kraken and Bitstamp, with their tighter alignment to Coinbase, reinforce the core USD price. Binance’s wider deviation in its USD pair means it sometimes moves to its own rhythm, which could be linked to internal order flow or spillover from its larger USDT markets.

Realized volatility over the 24 hours averaged 1.66% across venues. Coinbase saw the highest at 1.71%, followed by Bitstamp at 1.70%, Binance at 1.66%, and Kraken at 1.58%. The volatility figures fit the price ranges: steady upward motion rather than chaotic swings. That environment benefits traders looking to work large orders over time, but the venue-by-venue pricing differences remain a key factor in minimizing costs.

The day’s low across the sample was $116,749.76, and the high was $122,308.00, framing the session’s battlefield. The rise from bottom to top was steady and broad-based, the kind of move where spot and derivatives markets tend to reinforce each other.

The lack of sharp retracements suggests the buying was persistent enough to absorb profit-taking along the way.

Looking at this distribution, the state of the USD Bitcoin market is clear: one dominant venue sets the pace, while others help anchor the price. This means execution quality depends on knowing where the real liquidity is and which books stay closest to the market’s core.

A run like this, with a clean 24-hour rally and relatively tight clustering between large exchanges, shows efficient price discovery in action.

If these patterns hold, Coinbase’s role as the USD price hub will not be challenged soon. Kraken and Bitstamp will remain important for diversification and redundancy in pricing.

The post Coinbase held the majority of USD trading volume as BTC spiked to $122k appeared first on CryptoSlate.