There are many ways for trading crypto, each invented to meet market participant’s preferences. One such way is OTC trading.
OTC (over-the-counter) is a term market participants use to describe trading without intermediaries and traditional exchange tools. This scheme involves a seller and a buyer, who can come to an agreement about the deal without involving any third parties.
By the way, itez also has an OTC platform. It combines dedicated support and competitive prices with fast settlements. Smooth combination makes itez OTC platform one of the best in the market. Check it yourself.
The OTC markets are developing. In 2023, their volume increased by 400%, reaching $2 billion weekly. People opt for OTC trading over traditional platforms due to its unique opportunities, such as specific deal settings, including timing and even asset exchange rates.
Every year, the over-the-counter market reveals new trends driven by evolving demands. Let's explore some recent trends in crypto OTC trading:
1. Wide listing. During the OTC market's inception, customers could conduct operations with a limited number of cryptocurrencies, mainly Bitcoin (BTC) and the most-capitalised stablecoin, Tether (USDT). However, as the digital market expanded and more people joined the crypto community, OTC platforms faced a high demand for new tools to interact with new coins.
The CCData team discovered that a range of assets is one of the most important criteria when choosing a trading platform. Business is simply trying to follow the demand. That is why wide listing has become a trend.
Unfortunately, there is no specific data about the medium-longness of listings, but we can measure metrics among popular platforms. It seems like the main focus is on stablecoins like USDT. No wonder why coins like that take leadership in terms of trading volume. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other behemoths are also on the list. OTC also offers a wide range of fiat currencies, which usually includes USD/EUR/GBP/AUD/CAD/HKD/JPY and other popular currencies.
2. Flexible conditions. Sometimes standard rules do not fit customer’s needs. Aiming to find the solution, users pressured OTC platforms to widen their settings in order to make them more flexible.
For example, OTC platforms were forced to widen their settlement toolkit to defend themselves from client leaks. Amid the fight for important customers, companies gave a nod to compromises to keep themselves attractive to market participants. So, clients reached better conditions.
3. Lowering fees. While the digital asset market grows, tension between rivals is getting stronger. Battles for customers forced OTC platforms to fight, using their features and conditions as weapons. In a race to keep the auditory, companies reduce their fees, which is 100% good news for users. Some platforms, like Huobi, declined fees at all. Previous conditions included fees up to 3.5%.
There are more commission-free OTC platforms in the market, including Binance and Kraken. The Bank for International Settlements believes lowering fees became possible thanks to the reduction in settlement costs due to new technologies.
4. Volume increase. OTC platforms face increased demand for capacity growth as the crypto market wakes up after a long winter. Institutional investors diving into the industry are driving the process. For example, Wintermute data shows a 400% rise in crypto OTC deals volume in 2023.
CCData research shows that the number of OTC Desk clients in 2023 grew significantly. It validates trading volume growth.
5. Establishment of regulations. Authorities all over the world continue their work on crypto regulation. New rules and practices influence the OTC market as well. For example, US authorities agreed about BTC status and gave a green light for spot Bitcoin-ETF, making cryptocurrency’s position on the financial market clear.
The CCData team asked OTC trading platform owners to describe the impact of regulations on their businesses in 2023 compared to 2022. Most of them answered that there are no differences, but 33%, which is the second group in terms of volume, mentioned a positive effect. Only 26% of respondents feel negative about changes in regulation.
itez follows all trends. We provide market participants with the best OTC conditions and the lowest fees.
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This article is not an investment recommendation. The financial transactions mentioned in the article are not a guide to action. Itez is not responsible for possible risks. The user should independently conduct an analysis on the basis of which it will be possible to draw conclusions and make decisions about making any operations with cryptocurrency.
