Crypto: The volumes of centralized platforms collapse by 39%

The crypto market is going through a zone of severe turbulence. In the first quarter of 2026, trading volumes on centralized platforms plummeted by 39%, confirming what many feared: a well-established crypto winter. And the signals for the second quarter are hardly reassuring.

A dark quarter for centralized crypto platforms

In a report published Thursday, April 17, 2026, CoinGecko sounds the alarm. The ten largest centralized exchange platforms in the world saw their spot volumes plunge 39% between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, from 4,500 billion dollars to just 2,700 billion. A sharp decline, sparing no player in the sector.

And the worst came at the very end of the quarter. March indeed marked the lowest point: with only 800 billion dollars traded in the month, the market fell back to its November 2023 level. By comparison, January and February had still maintained the bar of 1,000 billion monthly. The degradation therefore clearly accelerated at the end of the quarter.

HTX, formerly Huobi, shows the worst performance among the major platforms: its volumes collapse by 55% over the period, to 133.6 billion dollars. However, the trend is general; no CEX stands out.

The average daily volume also confirms this grim picture. At 117.8 billion dollars over the quarter, it shows a decline of 27% compared to Q4 2025, a figure that alone illustrates the scale of the slowdown.

Bitcoin under pressure, a fragile rebound, strong headwinds

Bitcoin did not withstand the storm. Over the quarter, it fell 22%, a remarkable underperformance when one knows that the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell respectively “only” by 7.1% and 4.8%, their worst quarterly performances since 2022. The king of cryptos thus performs worse than traditional equity markets, which weakens its safe-haven narrative.

Several factors explain this bearish dynamic:

• Geopolitics: the American-Israeli strikes against Iran in February created a shockwave in the markets.
• Monetary policy: the appointment of Kevin Warsh as chairman of the US Federal Reserve suggests a tightening of financial conditions, bad news for risky assets.
• Market dynamics: after the historic peak of over 126,000 dollars reached six months ago, bitcoin is now in a prolonged correction phase.

And recent signals do not argue for an immediate rebound. According to CryptoQuant, BTC faces key resistance around $76,800. In the space of just one hour, nearly 11,000 BTC were deposited on exchanges, a level unprecedented since December 2025, revealing increasing selling pressure. 

At the same time, whales, the large holders, seem to be taking advantage of the rebound to lighten their positions. Their share in deposit flows thus rose from less than 10% to over 40% in a few days.

The crypto market is entering a decisive phase. If the $67,600 zone were to break, a deeper correction would have to be considered. In this context of macroeconomic uncertainty and declining volumes, caution remains required. Will the spring be that of the rebound, or that of a winter that stretches on?