PremiumTrading volume of ether on global crypto exchanges surged 1,461% to $1.4 trillion in the first half of the calendar year against $92 billion during the same period last year, while total bitcoin volume reached $2.1 trillion, up 489% from $356 billion over the same period in 2020, according to a study by Coinbase Institutional.
Ether tokens are digital assets that are being built on top of Ethereum blockchain.
According to the Coinbase, the first half of 2021 was one of the most active periods on record for crypto markets, resulting in new all-time highs in asset prices, user adoption, and trading activity.
“Crypto saw continued price volatility — total market capitalization began the year at $769 billion, peaked at $2.4 trillion in May, and ended the period at $1.4 trillion, registering a net gain of 86% year to date," Coinbase said in a report, which was launched earlier this week.
In terms of individual assets, bitcoin returned 280% for the 12-month period and 20% for the 6-month period ending 30 June. The digital asset was trading above the $40,000 level after rising more than 7% on Wednesday. It was still nearly 40% lower compared its all-time high level of $64,804.72, as per CoinGecko.
Meanwhile, ether outperformed other benchmark assets, including bitcoin, in H1. The second most valuable crypto asset appreciated 895% over the 12-month period and 210% over the six-month period ending June 30.
Coinbase study also showed that the global number of bitcoin holders continued to grow in H1 as crypto education and ease of access improved. The total number of unique bitcoin addresses holding a bitcoin balance greater than zero ended H1 at 38 million, up from 33 million at the beginning of the period.
“We believe this metric likely trails real user growth number significantly, given that many of the fastest-growing access points for bitcoin holders are platforms that leverage omnibus wallet infrastructures on their backend that hold funds for many end users," the US-listed crypto exchange said.
