Cryptocurrency trading volumes on centralized exchanges reached a record high in December, with spot trading volumes rising by 8.1% to $3.72 trillion and derivatives volumes rising 7.33% to $7.58 trillion.

A Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be the next spot crypto ETF to be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas.

Billions of dollars worth of bitcoin stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in a 2016 hack should be returned to the firm, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a recent court filing.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Crypto Trading Volumes Reach Record High in December
• Litecoin ETF Could Be the Next Spot Crypto ETF the SEC Approves
• DOJ Argues Billions in Stolen Bitfinex Bitcoin Should Be Returned to the Exchange
• Crypto Trading Volumes hit New $75 Trillion High in 2024

Crypto Trading Volumes Reach Record High in December

Cryptocurrency trading volumes on centralized exchanges reached a record high in December, with spot trading volumes rising by 8.1% to $3.72 trillion and derivatives volumes rising 7.33% to $7.58 trillion.

The combined spot and derivatives volumes rose by 7.58% to $11.3 trillion, a new all-time high. Notably, derivatives trading volumes have seen their market share drop to the lowest level since June 2022, at 67%, according to CCData’s latest Exchange Review report.

Binance remained the market leader in spot trading, with a volume of $946 billion after seeing a modest 0.13% rise over the month. It was followed by Bybit, whose spot trading volume rose 18.8% to $247 billion, and by Coinbase, which saw a 9.62% volume rise to $191 billion.

CCData’s report details that December saw the third consecutive monthly increase in derivatives volumes. The rise came in the same month the price of bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time.

Litecoin ETF Could Be the Next Spot Crypto ETF the SEC Approves

A Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be the next spot crypto ETF to be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas.

On social media, Balchunas noted that they’ve heard there’s been engagement between the regulator and Canary Capital, ahead of an amended S-1 filing by the firm for a Litecoin ETF.

Balchunas added that the appointment of a new SEC chair following the departure of Gary Gensler next week is a “huge variable.” President-elect Donald Trump has chosen crypto-friendly SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to lead the agency.

James Seyffart, another Bloomberg analyst, also pointed to potential engagement between the SEC and Canary Capital on a potential litecoin ETF given the amended S-1 filing, but noted that a 19b-4 filing — an application for a proposed rule change by a self-regulatory organization — would be a more concrete sign of a potential approval.

Canary Capital initially filed its S-1 statement for a litecoin ETF back in October. The amended filing identifies U.S. Bancorp Fund Services as the fund’s administrator, with Coinbase Custody Trust and BitGo serving as the custodians for its LTC holdings.

DOJ Argues Billions in Stolen Bitfinex Bitcoin Should Be Returned to the Exchange

Billions of dollars worth of bitcoin stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in a 2016 hack should be returned to the firm, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a recent court filing.

In the filing, the government asserted that the recovered cryptocurrency should be returned to Bitfinex as there are no specific “victims” in the case. In the 2016 breach, hackers took nearly 120,000 BTC worth nearly $12 billion from the exchange, and authorities have since recovered over $9 billion of the stolen funds.

Ilya Lichtenstein was last year sentenced to 60 months in prison for money laundering related to the theft after being convicted for stealing the funds. His wife Heather Morgan, a social media personality known as “Razzlekhan,” received an 18-month sentence for her role in laundering the stolen funds.

Following the security breach, Bitfinex implemented a plan to distribute the losses among its customers and then launched a repayment program to reimburse its users. The repayment plan saw it distribute tokens that could be redeemed for U.S. dollars or shares in the company.

The exchange has said that it believes its customers have been fully compensated, while some push back on the claim over the substantial increase in bitcoin’s price since the hack.

Crypto Trading Volumes hit New $75 Trillion High in 2024

Last year centralized exchange had a cumulative annual volume of $75.8 trillion, surpassing the previous all-time high of $65.1 trillion achieved in 2021. IDerivatives markets accounted for 69.2% of the total volumes, a significant increase from 59.5% in 2021, underscoring the growing popularity of derivatives offerings in the centralized exchange landscape.

As of December 2024, Binance continued to lead the centralized exchange market, dominating the spot and derivatives market share with a combined total of 35.1%. Bybit and OKX follow closely behind, securing market shares of 12.8% and 12.4%, respectively. 

Dig deeper into the cryptocurrency trading world via CCData’s latest Exchange Review.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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