Retail investors ‘bought the dip’ during last week’s bitcoin crash, says Simplex

Fiat-to-crypto onramps provider Simplex has said that retail investors “bought the dip” during last week’s bitcoin crash of over 50%.

The most popular cryptocurrency among buyers was bitcoin (BTC), which accounted for 59.6% of Simplex’s volumes during March 12-14, according to a statement shared with The Block on Tuesday.

Simplex did not share volume figures "due to partner confidentiality," but said most users bought bitcoin around $6,000 levels on March 12.

Source: Simplex 

“The market downturn hasn’t dampened the public’s enthusiasm for purchasing crypto. In fact, it’s clear that many people have seen the recent dip as a buying opportunity rather than a sign that crypto’s investment thesis has been invalidated,” said Simplex CEO Nimrod Lehavi.

Bitcoin purchases were followed by Tether (USDT) stablecoin and ether (ETH), which accounted for 12.60% and 9.78% of volumes, respectively.

"At least 20% of all fiat purchases made during this period, when measured in USD, were used to purchase stablecoins," said Simplex.

Geographically speaking, Europe accounted for 33.29% of Simplex’s purchasing volume during the period, followed by Asia (22.30%) and the U.S. (16.57%), per the statement. 

Simplex said its partners, including crypto exchanges, saw a four times growth in purchasing volume during the period. The firm declined to share volume figures "due to partner confidentiality."

The firm currently provides fiat gateway infrastructure to several crypto exchanges, including Binance, Huobi, and Poloniex. Simplex has a total of over 120 partners globally.

UPDATE (11:30 am EST): This story has been updated with more information.