The volume of cryptocurrency trades in the Czech Republic fell by a fifth to CZK 200 million in November compared to October. At the same time, spending was roughly 35 percent lower than in the same month last year.
Czechs have bought bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies worth CZK 3.3 billion this year, down a quarter year-on-year. This is according to data from Bit.plus, the largest trader.
“The end of the FTX exchange and, in the Czech environment, the investigation of the Xixoio token project did not help business much. However, the low price increased the share of speculative purchases, which did not offset the decline in volume compared to October,” said Martin Stránský, founder of Bit.plus.
The entire world of cryptocurrencies paid the price of the FTX crash, as exemplified by the significant sale of bitcoin, followed by other virtual coins. Even before the FTX crash, the world’s most famous cryptocurrency was trading at CZK 522,150, but then the value plunged to below CZK 400,000, the worst result since the end of 2020.
For example, last Monday, the exchange rate was only 376,440 CZK; currently, bitcoin is trading at 393,020 CZK. Exactly one year ago, the value was CZK 1,140,200. The absolute record for the most famous cryptocurrency in the world was set in November 2021, when it was offered for CZK 1,427,350.
According to Jakub Hlavenka, the director of 2Bminer, cryptocurrency trading has slowed down a lot. Clients have started seeking other solutions to enter the world of cryptocurrencies, not just speculating on exchanges, which several crashes have marred in recent weeks.
“I see the whole situation as positive in the long run. We also expect significant growth in the cryptocurrency market after introducing more thorough checks on all exchange companies, including the proving of reserves. The industry is now going through a mass market adaptation. Situations like the one that occurred this month are always associated with it. All this confirms how much potential cryptocurrencies have,” Hlavenka added.
At the beginning of the month, the crypto market capitalization was near the one trillion dollar mark. Liquidating unsecured loans caused by the FTX crash pulled the market down to the final 850 billion dollars. The market needs to be cleansed of further fraudulent projects to restore confidence in cryptocurrencies.
This can be helped by the so-called “proof of reserves,” a new standard that allows exchanges to prove they are holding client assets in segregated accounts and not using them for further speculation. But its introduction has its pitfalls, and it will take time before such an approach becomes the standard, as it is in the traditional financial world, Valnicek said.