Bitcoin Held on Exchanges Continues to Decline, With Over 68% of Total Exchange Holdings Controlled by Just 5 Exchanges
Amid the market carnage tied to the recent Terra fallout, Bitcoin sent to exchanges saw a brief spike on May 7, jumping more than 2% from 2.481 million to 2.532 million BTC. The number of Bitcoin available on exchanges is still lower today than it was before, despite the increase in Bitcoin sent to trading platforms.
Bitcoin on Exchanges Continues to Be Traded Down
Bitcoin (BTC) being withdrawn from centralized cryptocurrency exchanges has fallen to 1.3 million. This figure is lower than what was recorded on November 15, 2020. Two hundred and forty-eight days earlier, on March 12, 2020 — the day after the infamous “Black Thursday” — there were just over 3 million Bitcoin held on centralized crypto trading platforms.
The number of BTC on exchanges dropped by 15.86% between March 12, 2019, when it stood at 3 million BTC, and 2.524 million BTC by November 15, 2020. The BTC count on exchanges has declined in recent years, hitting two major lows in the month of May.
The earliest Cryptoquant.com data, published on May 2, 2022, showed that Bitcoin was exchanged at 2.481 million BTC. The 2.481 million Bitcoin figure was only 1.70% lower than the amount held as of November 15, 2020. The Terra blockchain catastrophe and the de-pegging of TerraUSD (UST) triggered a temporary increase in BTC deposits on exchanges.
There was a 2% increase in BTC deposits to centralized crypto exchanges following the May 2 decline. However, this indicator shifted quickly as Bitcoin deposits on centralized crypto exchanges fell 2.21% from the May 7 high of 2.532 million Bitcoin to 2.476 million Bitcoin.
5 Exchanges Hold Over $50 Billion Out of $73 Billion in Bitcoin Held on Trading Platforms
At the time of writing, there were 2.503 million Bitcoin worth $73.7 billion held on cryptocurrency trading platforms. Data provided by Bituniverse's Exchange Transparent Balance Ranking (ETBR) indicates that Coinbase holds approximately 34% of all Bitcoin held on exchanges. According to the ETBR, Coinbase holds 853,530 Bitcoin on its trading platform. This is worth approximately $25.14 billion at the current BTC exchange rate.
Binance holds 13.58% of the 2.53 million Bitcoin being traded on exchanges. Binance holds the second-largest amount of Bitcoin, with a total of 340,410 BTC valued at approximately $10 billion.
OKEx currently ranks third in Bitcoin holdings, with 266,530 Bitcoin, or 10.62%. Huobi Global currently ranks fourth, with 160,950 Bitcoin on the platform. Huobi's BTC balance represents 6.39% of the total 2.503 million Bitcoin held across exchanges.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is the fifth-largest holder of Bitcoin, with 102,900 BTC, or 4.07%. Combined, these five exchanges account for 68.66% of all Bitcoin held across the top five exchanges by Bitcoin reserves (or 2.503 million BTC in total).
The five exchanges collectively hold 1.724 million BTC, worth $50.7 billion, compared to an overall total of 2.53 million BTC valued at $73.7 billion. Even though there are far fewer BTC on exchanges now, the Bitcoin held by these trading platforms remains heavily concentrated among Coinbase, Binance, OKEx, Huobi, and Kraken.
How do you feel about holding Bitcoin on centralized exchanges? What do you think about the roughly 68% held by just five crypto trading platforms? Comment below and let us know your thoughts on the matter.
