Comparing Crypto Volatility and Trading Activity Across Exchanges and Hours
Summary
This report compares hourly Bitcoin returns, volatility, and trading volume across Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, HTX, Kraken, and OKX. It groups activity by the trading hours of several regions, using standard deviation of hourly returns as a volatility proxy and examining cumulative log returns and Garman-Klass volatility as additional views. Hourly returns are retained for each trading pair, while volumes are aggregated by exchange.
The analysis reports broadly similar exchange behavior, with OKX standing apart. Volatility and volume patterns vary by exchange and region: for example, several exchanges show higher volatility outside APAC market hours, and Binance and Coinbase volumes peak around the overlap between European and U.S. activity. These observations suggest that exchange choice and timing can affect exposure to volatility and liquidity. The report uses historical data from 2018 through October 2023, but regional hours are only rough proxies for trader location, overlap across regions, and exchange-specific factors are not isolated. The findings therefore describe patterns rather than establish causal explanations or a validated trading strategy.
Key ideas
- The report uses standard deviation of hourly returns to compare volatility across exchanges and regional trading hours.
- Trading volume is aggregated by exchange, while hourly returns remain separated by trading pair.
- Several exchanges show higher volatility outside APAC market hours, while OKX displays a distinct pattern.
- Binance and Coinbase volumes tend to rise around European and U.S. trading activity.
- Regional market-hour comparisons are exploratory because trading activity cannot be reliably assigned to a region.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.