For the first time in over a year, monthly trading volume for cryptocurrency exchanges catapulted past the $1 trillion mark in December 2022. Exchange volume registered an impressive $1.1 trillion in total during that month, data from The Block’s Data Dashboard revealed. Previously, in September 2022, the trading volume had reached a similar peak at $1.03 trillion.

The trading volume for December 2022 surpassed any recorded monthly trading volumes for the past year and a half, including a previous milestone of $1.35 trillion in May 2022.

Examining the performance of various exchanges, Binance boasted the highest trading volume for December, making up 39.3% of the month’s total volume with $432.7 billion. Upbit followed with an 8.3% share, equating to $91.8 billion, and OKX was close behind, capturing 8% of the total trading volume at $87.5 billion.

The increase in trading activity observed last month is likely associated with the industry’s hope for the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Block’s Research Director, Steven Zheng, explained that the optimism surrounding Bitcoin ETFs likely drove this upsurge in the trading volume.

Typically slower due to the holiday period, December’s trading volume reached an impressive $1 trillion, indicative of a hopeful summer of Bitcoin ETF approval and a revived bull market. In line with these expectations, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rose by 5.8% to over $45,000 over a single weekend. As per The Block’s Price Page for Bitcoin, it was trading at $45,260 as of 11:05 a.m. EST.