Bitcoin markets have recently become wild with huge trading volumes, as the cryptocurrency's price has never been higher. Currently, the price of one Bitcoin is hovering between $1550 and $1570, with global trading volume reaching $700 million in just one day (May 4).
Many news agencies believe that Japan is to blame for such a sharp increase in the rate, since interest in cryptocurrency has grown significantly in the country. Japan is also said to account for the lion's share of daily Bitcoin trading volume.
According to statistics on Coinmarketcap.com, US exchanges such as GDAX, Bitstamp , Kraken , Bitfinex and Gemini are seeing significant trading volumes, with USD/BTC trading at approximately $73 million in the last 24 hours.
Japanese exchanges show the same level of JPY/BTC worth $73 million per day between Bitflyer, Coincheck, Zaif and Quoine.
China's volumes are slightly lower, at $45 million in 24 hours. With volumes from Huobi, BTCC, and OKCoin, China was once the global leader in Bitcoin trading in 2016, but that all changed when trading platforms suspended withdrawals and added commissions to every trade. Europe follows close behind, with European Bitcoin exchanges accounting for approximately $31,4 million of the total trading volume.
Statistics show that trading volume in dollars and yen is higher than ever, but some believe these figures are exaggerated. For example, when China dominated the Bitcoin market, it was because trading platforms allowed fee-free trading, which dramatically increased yuan trading volumes. As Chinese exchanges added fees, BTC/CNY trading volumes in China fell. One of the advantages of Japanese Bitcoin trading is that Japanese exchanges charge no commissions on transactions. This is somewhat concerning to skeptics, as the JPY/BTC statistics may be inflated for this reason.
Volumes in the US are high, but this may currently be due to Bitfinex's market size . Of the total volume of $73 million, Bitfinex accounts for $30 million. The large difference in Bitcoin prices is due to the exchange's suspension of dollar withdrawals. Currently, 1 BTC on the Bitfinex trading platform is trading at approximately $1630.
However, crypto traders are primarily focused on Japan because the government legalized Bitcoin as a form of payment on April 1, 2017. Furthermore, Bitflyer and Coincheck plan to help thousands of businesses in the country accept Bitcoin this summer.
The widespread adoption of the first cryptocurrency is observed in many other countries. In the US, China and Europe, legislators are also preparing bills to address the use of Bitcoin within each country, as leaders see increased trade volumes and the popularity of the cryptocurrency in these countries has consistently grown for more than a year.
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