Crypto traders lament extra-intense Christmas holiday session

Over the Christmas holiday, not a traditional market was stirring. The world's largest crypto desks, meanwhile, were working overtime.

While trading professionals in equities and bonds powered down their screens for a festive respite, employees at firms like B2C2 and Wintermute worked long hours to keep up with a surge in bitcoin's price and unusual buying demand.

For some crypto traders, the holiday activity put a strain on family plans. 

"I promised the fiancé 4 days without screens," one trader said. "Broke it the first day. Honestly, it is a bit like 2017. When it rains, it pours." They added: "There's a number where you just suck it up and get on screens and respond to people."

Between Christmas Eve and the time of writing, bitcoin has appreciated by more than 15%. It's currently trading above $26,000.

Exchanges, crypto-market makers, and over-the-counter trading desks all absorbed the surging demand. 

Wintermute, a European shop, traded $1 billion on Christmas Day. "In December, there were days when we traded as much as the first couple months of the year," said Wintermute's CEO Evgeny Gaevoy.

B2C2 USA said volumes in the weekend after Christmas were approximately double the typical weekend. On December 27, Rob Catalanello, who leads B2C2's US operation, said the firm was "extremely busy" during the holiday weekend. He told The Block that new clients — particularly from the traditional financial-services world — helped fuel the growth "tremendously."

In a sense, the action over Christmas continued a story of the crypto market for all of December. Catalanello provided figures that show the fourth quarter of 2020 clocked in volumes that were 47% higher than the previous record, which was this year's second quarter.

On centralized exchanges, volumes saw a similar spike, according to The Block Research. As of today, spot volumes for the month of December stand at a whopping $320 billion. 

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As for what comes next, traders don't expect December's activity to slow down in the new year. Wintermute's Gaevoy said that January will be marked by a number of traditional firms adding crypto to their portfolios and strategies — which will further increase action in the crypto OTC market. Wintermute is hoping to catch up by expanding its over-the-counter trading capabilities, said Gaevoy.

"January is very active for traditional finance. Funds are rebalancing, taking new position," he said. "New institutional capital in January should be busy—will be super busy for bitcoin, specifically."