XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum Hit $47B Volume, Highest Since June as BTC Reclaims $72K

The crypto market is now on an explosive price run, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP hitting multi-week highs after several months of disappointing performance.

Notably, the trigger happened yesterday, August 19, as trading activity surged across top exchanges like Binance. In particular, combined spot and perpetual trading volume of BTC, ETH, and XRP reached $46.6 billion, according to CryptoQuant data.

The latest spike marked the highest combined trading volume since June 5, when activity reached roughly $59.4 billion. Yet, the August 19 total remained about 21.5% below that peak as Bitcoin broke higher and regained momentum.

Perpetual Markets Drive Trading Surge

Perpetual contracts accounted for most of the activity, generating about $42.7 billion, or 91.7% of the combined volume.

Bitcoin perpetual volume led the market at approximately $22 billion, followed by Ethereum at $20 billion. XRP perpetual volume reached roughly $718 million.

Spot markets added another $3.85 billion. This included about $1.96 billion in BTC volume, $1.69 billion in ETH volume, and $198 million in XRP volume.

Essentially, perpetual trading activity was roughly 11 times larger than spot volume, highlighting the dominant role of derivatives in the latest market move.

Bitcoin Breaks Above $71,500; XRP and Ethereum Follow

The surge in trading activity coincided with a sharp Bitcoin rally. BTC broke above $70,000 today for the first time since June. Notably, just yesterday, it traded at $64,400 but has soared by more than 12% to $72,307 at press time.

The increase in volume suggests the breakout was due to stronger market participation, particularly in leveraged perpetual markets.

Meanwhile, the momentum spilled into the altcoin market almost immediately, with many coins posting more impressive gains than BTC.

For instance, Ethereum has surged by 19.25% over the past day, reaching $2,285 and nearly erasing all the losses recorded over the last 90 days.

XRP has also surged by 16%, reaching $1.15 after touching $0.9800 last week. However, its 90-day performance still remains deeply negative, at a 15.35% decline.

Key Factors Helping Crypto Surge

Notably, the acceleration in crypto trading activity follows changes in the broader macroeconomic backdrop.

Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed top crypto and financial leaders for a meeting on the future of digital assets. These included executives from Ripple, Coinbase, Chainlink, Kraken, Robinhood, and Nasdaq, making the gathering a “who’s who” of finance, crypto, and technology.

Trump said his administration had “ended the war on crypto” and outlined its digital-asset agenda, including the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Digital Asset Stockpile, stablecoin legislation, and efforts to modernize financial rules for blockchain-based markets.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury announced plans to at least double liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated Treasury securities, increasing the previous maximum of $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, beginning September 9.

Longer-term Treasury yields subsequently declined, while the U.S. dollar weakened. U.S.-Canada trade tensions also showed signs of easing after Washington delayed planned 50% tariffs on Canadian imports for three days as negotiations continued.

With Bitcoin now trading above $72,200, stronger trading activity, a major BTC breakout, and shifting macroeconomic conditions could keep volatility high across the BTC, ETH, and XRP markets.