Bitcoin and Ethereum Waver – Why did trading volume drop?

The cryptocurrency market faltered on Friday as trading volumes cooled, with Bitcoin and Ethereum falling despite positive momentum earlier in the week.

After Bitcoin jumped to $94,600 on Wednesday, the leading digital asset by market capitalization changed hands around $95,300, an increase of 4.6% over the past seven days, according to crypto price aggregator CoinGecko. Ethereum rose 5.9% to $3,250 over the same period.

Meanwhile, transaction volumes for Bitcoin and Ethereum fell 27% and 32% each, to $65 billion and $54 billion, respectively, according to CoinGlass. The trend has spread to various stocks including Solana, XRP and Dogecoin.

The drop follows Coinbase withdrawing its support for a crypto market structure bill, after weeks of lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, and surfacing tensions over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s treatment of crypto companies among Democratic lawmakers.

“I’m still pretty optimistic that this bill will pass in a very bipartisan and strong way,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said during a Friday appearance on Fox Business. “I came out and said I think there are these issues, while deferring to the Senate on exactly how to proceed from here.”

Several commentators skewered the SEC in a letter to Chairman Paul Atkins on Thursday.

“There was a lot of optimism that we would see this year pass,” said Carlos Guzman, research analyst at crypto trading firm GSR. Decryptreferring to the CLARITY Act. “The rally appeared to coincide with the release of a new version of the bill.”

Although efforts to mark up the bill were delayed Wednesday by the Senate Banking Committee, Guzman pointed to the potential impact of other factors, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered by protests in Iran and developments in President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against the Federal Reserve.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell issued a warning that the White House was trying to undermine the central bank’s independence, after the announcement of Justice Department subpoenas centered on his testimony regarding a multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed headquarters. Guzman said it was remarkable that stocks fell, while crypto and precious metals rose.

Since Monday, Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds have generated steady inflows, bringing in $1.8 billion over a four-day period, according to CoinGlass.

Jasper De Maere, desk strategist at crypto market maker Wintermute, wrote in a note Thursday that the dynamics suggest “participation remains tight,” with most of the heavy lifting being done on Wall Street recently.

“Retail trade has been largely absent, with activity remaining subdued even as prices climb,” he wrote. That might change now as Bitcoin makes headlines again, but this rally has been primarily an institutional and ETF story.