Coinbase has maintained its Bitcoin (BTC) trading market dominance with the exchange holding a 53 percent share with over 520 000 BTC transactions in December 2021. This growth after the exchange outlet’s IPO in April 2021 is indicative of the confidence crypto enthusiasts have in its practices.
Coinbase insured its online customer balances up to $250 000 per person
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Several factors have contributed to Coinbase’s prominence on BTC transactions. It has a straightforward onboarding process and intuitive mobile application. That, coupled with its easy user interface, makes it attractive to newbies.
The platform has established a reputation for trustworthiness. It stores up to 98 percent of its holdings in cold wallets, which has given it some immunity to the security breaches suffered by some competitors.
BTC trading was up overall in 2021 with the cryptocurrency acting as an ideal hedge against pandemic-driven inflation. Big-name investors like Paul Tudor and JP Morgan took major interest in the digital asset and helped instill more trust and confidence.
While Coinbase dominated the market it wasn’t the only exchange to see growth. Bitfinex followed a distant second with 155 000 BTC trades translating to 16 percent of the December trading volumes.
Third spot was taken by Kraken, which moved 148 000 BTC for a market share of 15 percent while Bitstamp and Gemini closed the top five positions. The former fell just short of 10 percent market share, and the latter accounted for 3.86 percent.
Other platforms transacted under eight thousand BTC apiece. Each of them amounted to less than one percent of the market share.
Read more: Bitvice wants to spread Bitcoin custodianship in South Africa
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