LMAX Digital volumes picked up nicely on Wednesday. Total notional volume for Wednesday came in at $875 million, 30% above 30-day average volume.

Bitcoin volume printed $586 million on Wednesday, 46% above 30-day average volume. Ether volume came in at $228 million, 26% above 30-day average volume.

Looking at average position size over the past 30 days, we’re seeing average bitcoin position size at $10,090 and average position size for ether at $4,465.

Market volatility is consolidating after cooling off from peak levels in Mid-March. We’re looking at average daily ranges in bitcoin and ether of $3,130 and $183 respectively.

Bitcoin’s bearish monthly close in April has set the stage for the possibility of deeper setbacks in the days ahead. Technically speaking, the month of April ended a sequence of 6 consecutive monthly higher lows.

Overall however, bitcoin remains confined to a very well defined uptrend and has been rallying impressively since January of 2023. This suggests the current round of setbacks will be short-lived and very well supported ahead of the next major upside extension.

As far as the extent of the setback goes, we wouldn’t rule out the possibility for a drop back down towards $40k in 2024. At the same time, we don’t believe the market will spend much time down around those levels, if even tested at all.

If we look at the latest Fed decision, there is some reason for optimism. On Wednesday, the Fed said it would be reducing the pace of quantitative tightening, a dovish development that has since inspired Dollar outflows, which in turn, should be supportive of bitcoin and crypto assets.

Other notable headlines in the crypto market include Tether reporting a record breaking $4.52 billion in Q1 profit, and Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance getting sentenced to 4 months in prison after pleading guilty to anti-money laundering charges.