The best-performing digital asset this month was Bitcoin Cash (BCH), with most of its gains occurring in the past two weeks after it was listed on EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange launched on June 20 and backed by Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Citadel.According to CoinDesk data, the token increased 171% over the course of the month, outpacing bitcoin (BTC), the biggest cryptocurrency in the world, which increased by 14%.BCH jumped 30% in 24 hours at one point on Friday, reaching a 14-month high of $320.
Upbit, the most important digital asset market in South Korea, has seen an upsurge in trading activity.According to Coingecko’s data, the bitcoin cash-Korean won (BCH/KRW) pair, which is listed on Upbit, had $558 million worth of trade in the previous day.This is over three times as much as the $160 million volume in the BTC/KRW pair on Upbit and 5.5 times as much as the $87 million volume in BCH/USD on Coinbase, which is listed on the Nasdaq.According to Matt Kunke, a research analyst at GSR, Bitcoin cash’s superior performance in June may be explained by the belief that forks of the Bitcoin blockchain may carry a lesser regulatory risk.
“Liquidations were also a key component of BCH strength, particularly during the last day, as ~$15m of shorts were liquidated, the most out of any coin excluding BTC/ETH,” he said.
In addition to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission criticizing the two biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, which caused altcoin prices to fall in June, a number of major institutions increased their investment in the currency toward the month’s end, boosting sentiment.As a result, Bitcoin increased, reaching a one-year high above $31,000 a few days after BlackRock, the largest asset management in the world, submitted an application for a spot ETF on June 15.
“In crypto, we’ve been saying ‘the institutions are coming’ every year, and that rallying cry often drives the market narrative,” said Michael Safai, managing partner at Dexterity, an algorithmic high-frequency trading firm.
While there have been various levels of institutional participation throughout the years, nobody has ever possessed BlackRock’s trillion-dollar gravitas, which is evidently what has been driving BTC advances lately. FTT, the token of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, also gained over the month. In June, FTT increased 124%.The bankrupt exchange is in discussions with investors about pressing forward with plans to revive, according to a Thursday Wall Street Journal report.
Compound (COMP), the native token of the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, also made progress. After a surge in volume and outflows on Binance, COMP gained 50% in four days. In June, COMP is up 58%.