In the first quarter, cryptocurrencies worth CZK 1.1 billion were traded in the Czech Republic, which is a third more than in the same period last year. The volume of business in March rose by about a fifth year-on-year to more than CZK 400 million. This is roughly the same as the previous month. This is according to Bit.plus.
BTC broke records and trading volume rose
“Trading was mainly driven by bitcoin, which hit an all-time high in March when its price approached USD 74,000, USD 5,000 above the previous record set in November 2021. Partial profit-taking followed, which supported high trading volume,” said Bit.plus CEO Martin Stránský.
March was a significant month for bitcoin, according to Wood&Company investment analyst Tomas Kacerovsky, as it surpassed its previous high. “A big factor in this is, of course, the US ETFs, which have seen net inflows of almost $12 billion since their approval in January. Even though other cryptocurrencies are rising in price, it is bitcoin that is still setting the direction and the vast majority of other cryptocurrencies are far below their highs. This could change in the coming months and Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies could catch up with bitcoin’s growth lead,” Kacerovsky added.
The second driving force is Ethereum
Although the price of bitcoin has subsequently declined after reaching a peak, it is still more than 60 percent higher in the first quarter, according to Port analyst Lukáš Raška. The chances of launching ethereum ETFs are also still high, he said. Fidelity, one of the world’s largest asset managers, filed in March the registration statement required for approval of the Fidelity Ethereum Fund on the world’s largest options exchange based in Chicago. The price of Ethereum rose by more than 50 percent in the first quarter.
According to trading platform eToro, the most commonly held cryptocurrencies by Czechs in the first quarter were bitcoin, ethereum, cardano, dogecoin and XRP. Shiba, solana and litecoin follow.
Source.
