LMAX Digital volumes were solid on Wednesday. Total notional volume came in at $313 million, 17% above 30-day average volume.

Breaking it down per coin, bitcoin volume came in at $93 million, 31% below 30-day average volume. Ether volume came in at $99 million, 103% above 30-day average volume.

Looking at average position size over the past 30 days, we’re seeing average bitcoin position size at $6,721 and average position size for ether at $1,499.

Volatility is consolidating after a sharp rise out from multi-month lows. We’re looking at average daily ranges in bitcoin and ether of $2,133 and $95 respectively.

Crypto continues to demonstrate impressive resilience in the face of what has been a formidable run of potential negative catalysts. Bitcoin has stabilized after absorbing the failure of the CLARITY Act, a hawkish Federal Reserve rate hike, persistent geopolitical uncertainty and the inflationary threat from elevated energy prices.

The fact that Bitcoin and ETH have held up as well as they have through this combination is an important signal that underlying demand remains healthy.

The relative performance is perhaps even more noteworthy. Crypto has been materially outperforming traditional risk assets over recent weeks, with Bitcoin showing strength through a period in which the dollar has been firm, equities have struggled and gold has come under pressure.

There are also signs that Bitcoin’s relationship with traditional markets has become less tightly correlated, reinforcing the argument that crypto-specific fundamentals are playing a larger role in price discovery.

ETH has participated strongly in this broader recovery and continues to benefit from the structural adoption story around tokenization, stablecoins and institutional blockchain infrastructure.

More broadly, the regulatory setback from CLARITY should be kept in perspective. The failure to advance the legislation delays a statutory framework, but it does not prevent the SEC and CFTC from continuing to provide guidance under existing authority, leaving an important regulatory pathway open.

From a market structure perspective, we think the recent consolidation has been constructive. The explosive move in August had pushed technical studies into stretched territory.

The subsequent sideways-to-lower price action has allowed those conditions to normalize without producing the kind of deeper correction that might have been expected given the macro and political backdrop.

The takeaway for us is that crypto has now absorbed an unusually concentrated run of negative catalysts without breaking down. With positioning and technical conditions looking considerably healthier, we believe the balance of risk is shifting back toward the topside.

If the market has been this resilient when the news flow has been challenging, even a modest improvement in macro, geopolitical or regulatory conditions could provide the catalyst for the next major leg higher.