Bitcoin's rally toward $100,000 has spurred unprecedented perpetual futures trading activity on Kraken, with dogecoin perpetual contracts setting a 24-hour volume record and surpassing ether for the first time, according to Alexia Theodorou, Kraken's head of derivatives.
"Kraken has experienced a surge in our perpetual contract volumes as a variety of traders have sought leveraged exposure, or to hedge risk throughout the post-election market upturn," Theodorou told The Block. "While a lot of this activity has been concentrated in Bitcoin futures, both Dogecoin and Solana have exhibited greater volatility, presented more trading opportunities this year, and have been clear beneficiaries of the recent rally."
Kraken data shows solana perpetual contracts reached $2.5 billion so far in November, while dogecoin perpetuals hit $2.3 billion, both setting all-time highs. Kraken’s total perpetual trading volume is projected to reach $27 billion this month, nearing the $35.8 billion record set in May 2023.
Altcoin activity has surged since the U.S. presidential election, Theodorou said, with several Layer 1 tokens seeing notable price gains and increased trading activity. CryptoQuant analysts highlighted similar trends, citing rallies in altcoins such as XRP, toncoin, cardano, and solana. The analysts attribute this surge to expectations of a more crypto-friendly U.S. administration.
Altcoin spot trading volume has significantly increased since Donald Trump won the U.S. election. Image: CryptoQuant.
XRP has been a standout, climbing 120% since the election to $1.12, its highest level since November 2021, according to CryptoQuant. This rise coincided with record decentralized exchange activity on the XRP Ledger, which recorded $3.5 million in volume on Nov. 15. Analysts suggest growing institutional interest in diversifying beyond bitcoin and ether is driving the trend.
As risk-on sentiment builds, altcoin exposures like XRP could outperform traditional bitcoin and ether allocations, said Dovile Silenskyte, director of digital assets research at WisdomTree. “XRP can sit alongside these mega caps in a multi-asset portfolio and reduce investors’ exposure to a single token,” Silenskyte said in an email to The Block.
Capitalizing on the momentum, WisdomTree launched the WisdomTree Physical XRP (XRPW) exchange-traded product on Thursday. Listed on Deutsche Börse Xetra, the Swiss Stock Exchange SIX, and Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam, the ETP offers European investors new access to XRP, with a management expense ratio of 0.50%.
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