Spot trading volumes for Bitcoin on major exchanges have dropped to levels not seen since September-October 2023, marking the end of the previous bear market, according to analyst Darkfost.
📉 $BTC Spot volumes hit lowest levels since end of Bear market.
— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) April 29, 2026
The collapse in Bitcoin spot trading volumes continued throughout the month of April.
💥 Spot volumes have now returned to levels comparable to September 2023, marking the end of the previous bear market.
This… pic.twitter.com/p9npEyD5DG
He noted that the decline in activity persisted throughout April, indicating a significant drop in investor participation. Binance was hit hardest, with volumes decreasing by about $25 billion since March. Gate's volumes halved, down by $13 billion, while OKX saw a reduction of approximately $6 billion.
Darkfost attributed this downward trend to the macroeconomic environment, particularly the events surrounding the conflict in the Middle East.
“Concerns about persistent inflation have intensified. In such conditions, the Fed is unlikely to have enough room to accelerate policy easing at today’s FOMC meeting,” he remarked.
Amid this backdrop, many investors are hesitant to open long-term spot positions in Bitcoin, as medium-term prospects remain uncertain, Darkfost added.
Glassnode experts provided similar statistics, stating that such periods often coincide with reduced market depth and increased sensitivity of prices to capital flows.
Bitcoin spot volumes across major exchanges have fallen to their lowest levels since October 2023.
— glassnode (@glassnode) April 29, 2026
Such low volume environments often coincide with reduced market depth and heightened sensitivity to flow shifts.
📊 https://t.co/XLo1nlsykP pic.twitter.com/Pn6xfZs4gx
Weak Investor Interest
Joao Wedson, founder of Alphractal, also pointed to a cooling interest among investors. According to him, Google searches for cryptocurrencies have reached their lowest level in three years.
Google searches for cryptocurrencies are at their lowest level in the last 3 years.
— Joao Wedson (@joao_wedson) April 28, 2026
That explains the current sentiment.
This is a fragile moment, where the strong survive and the weak complain.
Alphractal is a unique platform where you can explore everything from on-chain to… pic.twitter.com/QYDIuGKkO1
The expert believes that the current phase reflects a vulnerable state of the sector, requiring patience and resilience from market participants.
The cryptocurrency fear and greed index further hints at uncertainty among investors. As of April 29, it stands at 26 points, indicating a state of “fear.”
Previously, amid Bitcoin's rise above $77,000, the index reached 46, its highest since January.
At the time of writing, the first cryptocurrency is trading around $77,100, having increased by 1.7% in the last 24 hours.
On April 28, Coinbase and analytics platform Glassnode released a joint report on the rise of optimism in the crypto market.