The under is an excerpt from a latest version of Bitcoin Journal PRO, Bitcoin Journal’s premium markets e-newsletter. To be among the many first to obtain these insights and different on-chain bitcoin market evaluation straight to your inbox, subscribe now.
As we head into 2023, we need to spotlight the most recent state of bitcoin’s quantity and volatility after a latest wave of capitulation. Final time we touched on these dynamics was in “The Bitcoin Ghost City” in October, the place we highlighted that a particularly low quantity and low volatility interval in bitcoin value, GBTC and the choices market was a regarding signal for the subsequent leg decrease. This performed out in early November.
Quick ahead and the traits of declining quantity and low volatility are again as soon as once more. Though this might be indicative of one other leg decrease to return out there, it’s extra probably indicative of a complacent and decimated market that few contributors need to contact.
Even in the course of the November 2021 capitulation interval, there was a traditionally low interval of volatility. Typically essentially the most market ache will be felt when having to attend for a transparent change in traits. The bitcoin value is offering that ache as we’ve but to see the kind of explosion in market volatility that has outlined market pivots and main directional strikes up to now.
Whereas there are a lot of other ways to outline, classify and estimate bitcoin quantity out there, all of them present the identical factor: September and November 2021 had been the height months of motion. Since then, quantity in each the spot and perpetual futures markets have been in regular decline.
General market depth and liquidity has additionally taken a significant hit after the collapse of FTX and Alameda. Their destruction has led to a big liquidity gap, which is but to be crammed as a result of lack of market makers at present within the house.
By far, bitcoin continues to be essentially the most liquid market of another cryptocurrency or “token,” however it’s nonetheless comparatively illiquid in comparison with different capital markets for the reason that entire business has been crushed over the previous couple of months. Decrease market depth and liquidity means property are susceptible to extra risky shocks as single, comparatively massive orders can have a higher affect on market value.
On-Chain Apathy
As anticipated within the present atmosphere, we’re additionally seeing extra market complacency when on-chain information. Though persevering with to rise over time, the variety of energetic addresses — distinctive addresses energetic as both a sender or receiver — stay pretty stagnant over the previous couple of months. The chart under highlights the 14-day shifting common of energetic addresses falling under the working common during the last 12 months. In earlier bull market circumstances, we’ve seen development in energetic addresses outpace the present development pretty considerably.
Since deal with information has its flaws, Glassnode’s information for energetic entities exhibits us the identical development. General, bear markets reversing are the results of many components, together with development in new customers and a rise in on-chain exercise.

In our July 11 launch “When Will The Bear Market Finish?”, we made the case that the brunt of the price-based capitulation had already been felt, whereas the actual ache forward was within the type of a time-based capitulation.
“A take a look at earlier bitcoin bear market cycles exhibits two distinct phases of capitulation:
“The primary is a price-based capitulation, via a collection of sharp selloffs and liquidations, because the asset attracts down wherever from 70 to 90% under earlier all-time-high ranges.
“The second part, and the one that’s spoken of far much less typically, is the time-based capitulation, the place the market lastly begins to search out an equilibrium of provide and demand in a deep trough.” — Bitcoin Journal PRO
We consider time-based capitulation is the place we stand as we speak. Whereas trade charge pressures can actually intensify over the brief time period — given the macroeconomic headwinds that stay — the circumstances that look more likely to persist over the brief and medium time period look to be a sustained interval of chop with extraordinarily low ranges of volatility that go away each merchants and HODLers questioning when volatility and trade charge appreciation will return.
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