Bitcoin stays rangebound amid heightened off-chain volume and low transaction counts

Bitcoin (BTC) held steady in the early Asian session on Friday, trading above $104,000 amid a general market consolidation. Glassnode stated in its weekly report that Bitcoin trading near all-time highs comes with some unusual on-chain activity, particularly low transaction costs due to a drop in network activity. 

Bitcoin sees reduced on-chain activity amid surge in centralized exchange volume

Bitcoin's remarkable push above the $100,000 price level has been accompanied by a notable decline in transaction counts, per a Glassnode report on Thursday. The low transaction count is largely driven by a fall in non-monetary transactions, resulting in lower overall throughput.

BTC’s average transaction volume sits at $36.2K, indicating that although transaction counts are down, each transaction still holds sufficient value. This shows that larger entities are still actively using the Bitcoin network despite reduced on-chain activity.

However, it also reveals a divergence between Bitcoin's growing market value and its underlying network usage. In previous bull cycles, price rallies drove heavy on-chain congestion and heightened transaction fees. 

Using the Fee Revenue Multiple (FRM) — a ratio that provides insight into the dominance of miner income — Glassnode revealed that on-chain fees have remained low despite Bitcoin trading near its all-time high.

As on-chain activity declines, much of Bitcoin's volume is now being pushed into centralized exchanges. Glassnode highlights the growing influence among centralized trading platforms, which have facilitated most of Bitcoin's trading activity during this cycle. 

“When comparing the volume traded off-chain (spot, futures, and options) to value settled on the network, we note off-chain volume has regularly been 7- 16x larger than the on-chain volume,” Glassnode said in its report.

With the rise in off-chain volume, derivatives open interest continues to grow, highlighting a build-up of leverage trading.

The report noted that Bitcoin's 30-day change in aggregate open interest has grown increasingly volatile compared to levels seen in 2023. While open interest remained stable throughout 2023, it began experiencing fluctuations following the launch of US Spot ETFs in January 2024.

Glassnode suggests that this rising volatility points to a broader market shift, typically from one dominated by spot trading to a more derivatives-driven structure. The report further adds that the transition “increases the risk of cascading liquidations” and could lead to a more unstable market environment.

Bitcoin continues to trade above $104,000 on Friday, as broader macroeconomic factors continue to impact its price.