Crypto Prices May Be Set to Slip, Weekly Trading Data Suggests

Lookonchain's weekly numbers show that roughly $856 million in stablecoins was pulled out of circulation during the past week.

Decentralized-exchange trading cooled over the same period, while one group of traders moved the other way.

Where Did Stablecoin Funds Move?

Traders keep money in stablecoins while preparing to buy Bitcoin or other coins, so a smaller supply leaves fewer funds available to spend.

Ethereum and Solana accounted for most of the outflows: the former shed $726 million in Tether (USDT), while the latter saw $619 million in USD Coin (USDC) leave, according to Lookonchain.

Tron went against that trend and added $526 million.

Are Traders Leaving or Placing Leveraged Bets?

DefiLlama figures show that the weekly decline equaled roughly 0.3% of the total stablecoin supply in circulation.

Since the fall represented less than 0.5%, can the drop by itself demonstrate that investors are leaving crypto?

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are platforms where users trade tokens straight from their own wallets, with no intermediary involved. Weekly spot volume on those platforms slipped 19.34% to $47.84 billion. Uniswap's volume alone dropped 25.8%.

Perpetual futures pointed in the opposite direction. These instruments allow traders to speculate on whether prices will climb or decline, often using borrowed funds. DEX volume for these contracts rose 8.2% to $149.39 billion.

The volume figures do not reveal which way those traders are wagering.

Public companies, for their part, trimmed their combined holdings by a net 89 BTC, worth about $7.37 million. CleanSpark, a bitcoin miner, sold 173 BTC, and Silvia, Inc. sold 165 BTC.

MicroStrategy nonetheless added 250 BTC, even as purchases by Saylor's firm slow down. Separately, BitMine bought 12,532 ETH for $31.75 million, while approaching its cap on ether holdings.

As of this writing, bitcoin was trading at $82,859, nearly 5% lower over the past seven days. It has lingered below the $85,000 level for several days, amid thin trading.

Some indicators still held up, however. Fees collected by crypto applications advanced 4.44% week over week, with Tether's $122.06 million leading the way. The next stablecoin update will show whether the money that exited comes back.