bitcoin exchange volumes
New research adds even more evidence that Bitcoin exchanges are faking volumes on a massive scale. | Source: Shutterstock

A site called TheTie released a report today that estimates over 86% of all reported Bitcoin exchange volume is suspicious, while 75% of exchanges report extremely dubious volumes. The research uses a different formula than other reports have: it values each website’s visitors and compares that value to the reported figures.

Potential Fake Crypto Volumes High Across The Board

crypto exchange fake volume
Many Bitcoin exchanges – most notably Bithumb – report volumes well in excess of what should be expected given their web traffic. | Source: TheTie

For example, Bithumb, which has been the subject of previous investigations, was expected to have a monthly volume of roughly $1.2 billion based on an average visit value of $13,418. Instead, Bithumb reports over $28 billion. This means their reported volume is nearly 2,000% higher than what would be expected.

TheTie introduces the data saying:

“The weighted average trading volume per web visit for Binance, Coinbase Pro, Gemini, Poloniex, and Kraken was selected as a baseline volume per user to calculate expected volume. This amounted to $591 per web visit. BitMEX was not included because it is a futures exchange. This does not account for mobile app or API usage to trade – web traffic is an assumption for simplicity. Relative outlier detection is quite notable, so the outright number isn’t the main objective.”

TheTie hedges its statements by saying these are “potential” indications of fake volume.

Altcoin Exchange Bittrex Among the Most Reliable Reporters

bittrex
Bittrex resists the urge to inflate its crypto trading volumes to attract more customers….