Cryptocurrency exchanges have closed 2018 with “record transacting volumes,” in step with a report by analysis firm Diar revealed Jan. 14.
In its report, Diar notes that each the amount of trades and therefore the trade volume has multiplied on major crypto exchanges in 2018, compared to 2017 figures. The firm predicts that 2019 can see lower figures for spot markets than in 2017, despite the doubtless increase within the kind of listed cryptocurrencies.
According to Diar’s knowledge, the combined trade volume of the USexD markets on major u. s. crypto exchange Coinbase multiplied by 20 in 2018 versus 2017. Over identical amount, exchanges Kraken and Bitfinex saw will increase severally. In addition to growing trade volumes, Coinbase reportedly registered a fourteen.1% increase within the range of trades: from eighty two.7 million deals in 2017 to ninety four.4 million in 2018.
Diar has conjointly analyzed the results of Bitcoin (BTC) mining activity throughout the year. in step with the analysis, BTC jack revenues reportedly surpassed $5.8 billion in 2018. In Gregorian calendar month alone, miners attained $1.2 billion. However, the monthly figure has to slouch by 93 p.c over the year, leading to a combined revenue of $210 million in Dec.
At the start of 2018, variety of mining pools light-emitting diode by application-specific computer circuit (ASIC) manufacturer Bitmain, beside the ViaBTC pool, that the corporate has endowed in, command management over 63% of Bitcoin network’s hash power. These same pools started 2019 with solely thirty-nine p.c of the network’s cash rate.
Diar highlights that the facility shift from few major mining pools to a bigger range of smaller ones is a very important consider making certain the network’s security from potential attacks:
“Unknown miners closed Dec having solved a large 19 p.c of the whole blocks up from half dozen p.c at the beginning of last year. The Bitcoin network is presently less doubtless to expertise AN attack given the very fact the BTC.com controlled pools have lost dominance over the network.”
As Cointelegraph reportable in Dec, Diar saw that institutional investors have removed towards developed liquidity over-the-counter (OTC) physical BTC markets. In 2018, Coinbase allegedly saw a 30 percent increase in BTC trade volume through unpublished markets hours, whereas Grayscale’s Bitcoin investment company saw a 40 p.c come by volumes compared to the identical amount in 2017.
Bitcoin miner revenues surpassed $5.8Bn in 2018 but the big number isn’t all that meets the eye. In January 2018 miners earned a shattering $1.2Bn but closed off the year 83% down bringing in only $210Mn in December.
Efforts of small miners turned sour in September 2018 as record hash power made profitability near non-existent with Bitcoin’s falling price