Decentral Block Post

The top two decentralized derivatives platforms, dYdX and GMX, are head-to-head concerning liquidity and trading volumes.

The perpetual swap daily trading volume on dYdX ranged between $340 million and $2.6 billion in March, per CoinGecko data. In comparison, GMX did less than $500 million in daily trading volumes.

The open interest (OI) volume, which measures the number of contracts traders hold on both exchanges, is closer than trading volumes. CoinGecko reported that GMX’s OI has ranged between $170 million to $200 million since March 2023 on Arbitrum alone. At the same time, dYdX’s OI volumes have stayed between $330 million to $260 million.

Notably, the ratio between trading and OI volume on dYdX is higher than GMX. The inflation of trading volumes on dYdX can be explained by the DYDX token incentive to boost trading volumes. A report from IOSG ventures noted,

“In cases where incentives are explicitly targeted at trading activity, like with dYdX, it remains difficult to determine the extent to which the trading volume would exist without such rewards.”

Trader Joe has risen to the top five decentralized exchanges by trading volume after the launch of its V2 platform on Arbitrum on Feb. 1, 2023. 

The project launched a liquidity incentive program to boost deposits for ARB, ETH and USDC trading which shared 300,000 JOE token rewards worth around $171,000. The incentive program ends on April 6.

The project’s social media account reported that Trader Joe accounted for 15.7% of the total ARB trading volume in the first week.

While JOE token incentives played a hand in increasing the liquidity for ARB token, innovation from the team in developing the capital efficiency of the DEX is the primary reason behind its growth.

Trader Joe climbs up the ranks in DEX space

Trader Joe launched a Liquidity Book (LB) model with its V2 upgrade in Q4 2022, which competes against the Uniswap’s (UNI) V3 liquidity model.

Trader Joe has risen to the top five decentralized exchanges by trading volume after the launch of its V2 platform on Arbitrum on Feb. 1, 2023. 

The project launched a liquidity incentive program to boost deposits for ARB, ETH and USDC trading which shared 300,000 JOE token rewards worth around $171,000. The incentive program ends on April 6.

The project’s social media account reported that Trader Joe accounted for 15.7% of the total ARB trading volume in the first week.

While JOE token incentives played a hand in increasing the liquidity for ARB token, innovation from the team in developing the capital efficiency of the DEX is the primary reason behind its growth.

Trader Joe climbs up the ranks in DEX space

Trader Joe launched a Liquidity Book (LB) model with its V2 upgrade in Q4 2022, which competes against the Uniswap’s (UNI) V3 liquidity model.

Bitcoin's (BTC) 43% rally between March 10 and March 20 surprised options traders and this is proven by the minimal14% of the $1.12 billion open interest set to expire on April 7 being placed at $28,000 and higher. 

The positive price movement can be partially attributed to an increase in commodity demand, as investors perceive risks in the central bank's emergency funding programs, as injecting liquidity causes inflationary upward pressure.

According to Urban Angehrn, CEO of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), if Credit Suisse had not been rescued, "many other Swiss banks would probably have faced a run on deposits." Angehrn added that, "there was a high probability that the resolution of a global systemically important bank would have led to contagion effects and jeopardized financial stability in Switzerland and globally."

Investors' appetite for commodities vastly increased after the U.S. Treasury Department reportedly discussed the possibility of expanding the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance for bank deposits on March 21. Oil prices measured by the WTI have rallied 23.5% since March 20, and gold broke above $2,000 on April 5 — its highest daily close since Aug. 2020.

An unexpected shockwave on a $33 trillion asset class that was previously thought to be a safe haven for inflation could have benefited the commodity sector as well. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has issued a warning about the commercial real estate market, predicting trouble with refinancing.

Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto may yet see a long-term correction thanks to central banks keeping liquidity tight, Bloomberg warned.

In its latest research, Bloomberg Intelligence revealed a cool stance on the ongoing 2023 crypto market rally.

Bloomberg: Expecting BTC price to hold “may be illogical”

Despite gaining 70% in Q1, Bitcoin is not convincing everyone that it will continue to climb or even maintain current levels near $30,000.

Examining the macroeconomic climate, Bloomberg Intelligence became the latest voice to note the close relationship between crypto performance and global central bank liquidity levels.

As inflation bites, banks have been withdrawing liquidity from the economy, with risk assets declining as a result — including crypto. The United States Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening (QT), which began in late 2021, coincided with the current all-time high for Bitcoin.