LMAX Digital volumes were up overall as the week got going. Total notional volume for Monday came in at $528 million, 19% above 30-day average volume.

Bitcoin volume printed $352 million on Monday, 34% above 30-day average volume. Ether volume came in at $127 million, 5% above 30-day average volume.

Looking at average position size over the past 30 days, we’re seeing average bitcoin position size at $7,678 and average position size for ether at 2,953.

Volatility has been trending lower in correction mode after peaking out at a yearly high in March. We’re looking at average daily ranges in bitcoin and ether of $1,050 and $74 respectively.

Now that we’ve come through the month of April, and considering market conditions are back to fuller form on this Tuesday, we thought it would be a good time to give an overview of where we’re at after the past four weeks of trading.

The run of consecutive monthly gains continued in 2023, with both bitcoin and ether closing out on a positive note in April. We didn’t see any major moves on the month, and most of the price action was consolidative in nature. Nevertheless, both major cryptocurrencies settled at +2.7%.

As far as the fundamentals go, crypto assets continued to find demand on fallout in the traditional banking sector. There were other factors supporting the market as well, including demand for ether after the Shapella Upgrade went off better than expected, and broad demand as yield differentials moved out of the US Dollar’s favor on hope for peak rates and the start to less aggressive monetary policy.

At the same time, rallies were well capped on a combination of extended technical readings following the bitcoin break above $30k, and on the back of an uptick in uncertainty on the regulatory front. The SEC Chair’s confusing testimony was a source of some selling, while expressed discomfort from major US exchanges towards US regulatory authorities added to selling pressure into rallies.

Looking ahead, we expect more turbulence from the regulatory front, but more demand to offset as traditional market participants wake up to crypto’s value proposition in the face of all the banking woes. We also expect Fed policy communications to play a part, with crypto assets still showing sensitivity to movement in yields and global risk appetite.