Centralized Exchanges Hit Hard as Market Liquidity Cools

Bitcoin’s recent consolidation near the $90,000 mark has led to a slowdown in the broader cryptocurrency market, with declining trading volumes on centralized exchanges (CEXs).

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, reported a 15.2% drop in daily trading volume, falling to $26.6 billion, according to data from CoinGecko. The platform currently lists 385 tokens and 1,260 trading pairs.

Bybit, a major Dubai-based exchange, also saw a decline, with its daily trading volume falling by 14.6% to $5.7 billion. Bybit offers more tokens than Binance, with 512 listed crypto assets, but has fewer trading pairs — 630 in total — with Bitcoin/USDT being the most traded pair.

OKX, the third-largest exchange, based in Seychelles, experienced the largest decline among the top three, with an 18% drop in trading volume to $4.6 billion.

Alongside this, the total trading volume across decentralized exchanges (DEXs) also fell, dropping 4% to $9 billion, according to CoinGecko data.

Market Cooldown and Profit-Taking

Bitcoin’s sideways movement around $90,000 has triggered a market-wide cooldown, with many leading cryptocurrencies entering overbought territory. Ethereum, BNB, and Toncoin, among others, have seen significant price increases, prompting both short-term and long-term investors to lock in profits.

This cooling off is considered a normal phase in the market, as attractive price levels often lead to profit-taking.

Crypto Liquidations Decline

Crypto liquidations have sharply decreased from a peak of $869 million on November 12 to just $231 million in the past 24 hours — including $141 million in long positions and $90 million in shorts, according to Coinglass data.

Bitcoin led the way in liquidations, with $37.3 million in total — $24.7 million in long liquidations and $12.6 million in short liquidations.

As liquidations fall, investor sentiment remains focused on potential bullish momentum, with total crypto open interest rising by 1.5% to $104 billion. The increase in open interest suggests heightened market volatility could be on the horizon, as the overall market sentiment remains in the "extreme greed" zone.

Bitcoin's dominance at 56.2% means its price movements could have a significant impact on the broader market, potentially driving trends across other assets.