Total notional volume at LMAX Digital cooled off in the previous week. Total notional volume from Monday through Friday came in at $5.7 billion, down 19% from a week earlier.

Breaking it down per coin, Bitcoin volume came in at $2.8 billion in the previous week, off 17% from the week earlier. Ether volume came in at $1.8 billion, down 30% from the week earlier.

Total notional volume over the past 30 days comes in at $35 billion.

Looking at average position size over the past 30 days, we’re seeing average bitcoin position size at $9,055 and average position size for ether at $8,060.

Volatility has been slowly picking up since finding a bottom in July. We’re now looking at average daily ranges in bitcoin and ether of $3,158 and $300 respectively.

We continue to see cryptocurrencies well capped into rallies as 2021 winds down. It’s been a fantastic year overall, with both bitcoin and ether extending their runs of record highs. Year to date, bitcoin is up 66%, while ether has smashed it out of the park, up 435%.

At the moment, it’s more about wait and see, with the market still looking for more regulatory clarity and perhaps a little tired after all the bullish moves. But without question, 2021 was a big year. It was the year of institutional adoption, decentralized finance and NFTs.

This sets the stage of a constructive outlook, though we are still concerned that at least over the coming weeks and maybe months, there could be fallout from an overdue correction in US and global equities.

We have yet to see this, but with central bank policy looking like it could be getting closer to normalization, there is risk for some weakness in a less investor friendly market environment.

As far as the latest headlines go, the big story over the weekend is around crypto exchange Ascendex, which was hacked for an estimated $77.7 million. This could be a factor behind some of the mild selling we’re seeing on this Monday.