Coinbase Trading Volume Increases in January While Other Exchanges See Declines: JPMorgan

Coinbase’s reputation as one of the more trustworthy exchanges in the U.S. has helped it following the collapse of rival FTX.

AccessTimeIconJan 24, 2023 at 8:29 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:06 a.m. UTC
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Trading volume on Coinbase picked up in the early weeks of 2023, while other exchanges saw continuing declines, analysts at JPMorgan found, a sign that Coinbase’s reputation as a trustworthy exchange is paying off after the collapse of rival exchange FTX.

The U.S.-based crypto exchange saw a small but noteworthy increase in average daily volume (ADV) of $1.6 billion so far in January, which is a 0.3% increase from the previous quarter. By comparison, other U.S. exchanges such as Kraken and Gemini saw declines of 13% and 46% respectively, according to JPM data.

Coinbase's declines in average daily volume have slowed so far in January. (JPMorgan/CryptoCompare)
Coinbase's declines in average daily volume have slowed so far in January. (JPMorgan/CryptoCompare)

Coinbase’s slight uptick in trading volume also signals change in direction given that the exchange saw an ongoing decline in volume in 2022.

“We think Coinbase has been cultivating a reputation as a reputable, trusted intermediary for some time,” analysts at JPMorgan wrote. “We think that reputation is helping to drive greater market share as activity levels rebound.”

Competitors of Coinbase, including Binance and Gemini, are grappling with the ripple effects of FTX’s collapse, which has triggered increased scrutiny over unregulated exchanges in the industry, making Coinbase one of the few options for investors to trade crypto without significant risk of fraud.

“Unlike a number of Coinbase’s high-profile peers, Coinbase did not have direct exposure to FTX and was insulated from the direct legal and reputational fallout from its demise,” JPM wrote.

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Helene Braun

Helene is a New York-based reporter covering Wall Street, the rise of the spot bitcoin ETFs and crypto exchanges. She is also the co-host of CoinDesk's Markets Daily show. Helene is a graduate of New York University's business and economic reporting program and has appeared on CBS News, YahooFinance and Nasdaq TradeTalks. She holds BTC and ETH.


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