Currency.com report: DOGE runs out of steam, ETH and LTC hold top spots while HODLers grow weary of BTC

Global crypto exchange, Currency.com data shows that Dogecoin trading activity has significantly cooled off in June compared to May.

A look at the popular ‘meme’ coin’s performance in terms of its price movement also shows DOGE remains vulnerable as suggested by the 3.4% decline recorded in the past 24 hours.

Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?

Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.

The cryptocurrency is also still 13% in the red over the past 30 days, and more than 90% off its all-time high reached in May last year. DOGE/USD currently trades around $0.07.

Dogecoin trading volume tanks amid risk-averse sentiment

Dogecoin, currently ranked 10^th among largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, remains one of the most traded crypto assets even as the market battles the bear conditions.

However, trading volumes for the meme coin have fallen quite sharply over this month as risk-off sentiment appears to eat into investor appetite.

According to data shared by Currency.com, DOGE/USD trading volumes had dropped by 51% during the month (as of 27 June 2022).  Number of traders in the pair has also seen a significant decline, with data showing a 57% dip just this month.

Steve Gregory, CEO Currency.com LLC, US, commenting on what this suggests, told Invezz:

This may suggest that traders are seeing a bottom for DOGE and favoring the safety of larger market cap coins like bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH).”

He added that last week’s BTC options expiration of $2.5B in open interest catalyzed further volatility across crypto. And with weakness across the global equities markets as well amid rising interest rates, another hike by the US Federal Reserve could trigger fresh selling in cryptocurrencies.

“Typically, crypto is the first to sell-off, followed by the wider global equities markets,” the Currency.com CEO noted.

BTC, ETH and LTC still most traded coins

Data from Currency.com also shows that Dogecoin’s cooling in trading activity has pushed it out of the top four most traded coins on the exchange. However, Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ethereum (ETH/USD) and Litecoin (LTC/USD) are still the most traded cryptocurrencies on the exchange in that order.

According to Currency.com, this is the second consecutive month the three coins have help the top three spots in terms of monthly trading volumes.

Bitcoin hodlers selling?

Last week, on-chain analytics platform Glassnode released a report that showed Bitcoin holders made huge unrealized losses as BTC fell to multi-year lows below $20,000.

On-chain data also showed long term holders, the HODLers, were also among the heaviest sellers with nearly 180k bitcoins sold as BTC dropped towards $17,600.

Currency.com notes the trend is marked among traders even as weariness hits the market, to suggest further weakness across the industry. But what could help the market on the upside?

Gregory says new momentum catalyzed by Ethereum’s transition to ETH 2.0. He noted:

With the Ethereum ‘merge’ just a few months away, and a major daily supply drop in ETH issuance, we see these as possible catalysts that pulls the asset class out of its downward trend,”