LMAX Digital volumes dipped back down on Wednesday. Total notional volume for Wednesday came in at $408 million, 11% below 30-day average volume.

Bitcoin volume printed $186 million on Wednesday, 28% below 30-day average volume. Ether volume was a bright spot for the day, coming in at $174 million, 7% above 30-day average volume.

Looking at average position size over the past 30 days, we’re seeing average bitcoin position size at $7,346 and average position size for ether at 2,929.

Volatility has been absent from the market for much of 2022 and is still trending down at yearly low levels. We’re looking at average daily ranges in bitcoin and ether of $815 and $104 respectively.

There haven’t been a lot of major updates in crypto in recent sessions and the market continues to mostly track with global risk sentiment. Much like most traditional currencies, bitcoin had dropped to a fresh multi-session low on Wednesday, before recovering into the close.

The catalyst for recovery has been attributed to less hawkish speak from Fed Brainard who warned the Fed risked raising rates too much, and to some position adjusting into another major central bank rate hike, this time from the ECB.

The most interesting development in crypto of late has been the relative outperformance in the price of ether. Ether has outperformed bitcoin, even in the face of some intense risk off trade. Of course, this can easily be understood with all of the excitement ahead of the upcoming Ethereum Merge, which is driving the outperformance.

Technically speaking, ether has been trending higher against bitcoin and is fast approaching a retest of the multi-month high from late 2021. But once this level is tested, we worry about risk for a reversal back in bitcoin’s favor.

The combination of what will likely be some overbought ETHBTC readings, a market that will be looking to sell the fact once the Ethereum upgrade goes through, and the reality of a still fragile state in the global economy, are all likely to come together to open a reversal of this recent trend.