- The second quarter marked the fourth consecutive quarter that institutional crypto trading on Okcoin has more than doubled
- Okcoin’s institutional clientele grew 13% in the second quarter and 28% in the first half of 2022
- Institutions are buying dollar-backed stablecoins 3x more than in the 2018 bear market
SAN FRANCISCO, July 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Okcoin, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing cryptocurrency platforms, today reported a 125% increase in institutional trading volume from Q1 to Q2 of 2022, the fourth straight quarter in which institutional trading activity more than doubled to have. Okcoin’s client base — which includes traditional financial traders, prime brokers, money managers, venture and hedge funds, and more — grew 13% in the second quarter and 28% in the first half of 2022. Along with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH ), stablecoins Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) were the most popular among institutions during the second quarter, with USDT and USDC buying up 116% and USDC 47% respectively over the first quarter.
Institutions are buying dollar-backed stablecoins 3x more than in the 2018 bear market.
Institutions held oversized BTC positions during the 2018 bear market.
In the first half of 2022, stablecoins accounted for 33% of asset purchases and Bitcoin for 40% amid a bear market that saw the crypto market value decline by over 60%. This is a marked difference in institutional activity from the previous sustained bear market that lasted from 2018 to 2020. Institutions held oversized BTC positions during this period, with stablecoins accounting for just 6% of purchases during the lowest six-month period in which the crypto’s market value declined 70%. During the most volatile phases of this recent market downturn, the Okcoin exchange systems experienced 100 percent uptime and no disruptions to customer trading.
“Despite the market downturn, institutional activity on Okcoin continues to reflect rising interest in crypto and greater maturity of the sector,” he said Jason Lau, COO of Okcoin. “Whereas in 2018 we saw institutions liquidate their crypto holdings in response to the bear market, this time nearly all of our clients are seeking greater exposure and taking a longer-term perspective. Additionally, the institutions that stayed in the market in 2018 remained focused almost exclusively on trading bitcoin, deeming stablecoins and other altcoins too much additional risk. In 2022, they trade dollar-backed stablecoins almost as much as they do Bitcoin – probably given that they consider it a “low risk” crypto asset due to its lower volatility.”
Since obtaining its ISDA membership in spring 2022, Okcoin has been working on ISDA contract negotiations with institutional clients and developing NDF and options products to be launched later this year. Bilateral OTC derivatives are in demand by traditional institutional clients who cannot hold crypto on their balance sheets but still want to gain crypto exposure for hedging or speculation.
Visit okcoin.com/institutions for more information.
About Okcoin
Founded in 2013, Okcoin is a US-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange serving more than 190 countries and territories. The platform allows retail and institutional investors to buy more than 50 digital assets in local currencies with a mission to make crypto easy for everyone, including first-time buyers. Okcoin was the first centralized exchange to offer a direct entry point into decentralized finance (DeFi) with Earn, a tool for earning APY through decentralized lending, liquidity pools, staking, and more. In addition, Okcoin offers institutional trading tools and APIs for asset managers, venture capital and hedge funds, retail brokers, payment processors, and more. Follow Okcoin on Twitter at @Okcoin and visit okcoin.com for more information.
SOURCE Okcoin
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