Bitcoin Settlement Volume Soars

Research from Ark Investment Management ($ARKK@US) found that the annual settlement volume of Bitcoin exceeded the payments volume of Visa (@V@US) last year. Bitcoin’s settlement volume rose more than 450% from the previous year to reach $13.1 trillion, edging out Visa. Bitcoin’s average daily transfer volume jumped more than 5 times that of the previous year, and the average transaction value jumped past $130,000. Why does it matter? Bitcoin is gaining more mainstream usability, becoming a household name that now rivals one of the most popular credit card issuers in the world. Blockdata also completed research on the topic, noting that Bitcoin has also surpassed PayPal and could pass Mastercard ($MA@US) in due time. With mainstream acceptance comes volatility, however, leaving Bitcoin subject to massive losses, as it’s tumbled nearly 50% from its all-time high in November of 2021. At press time, Bitcoin was trading close to $37,000, down over 3% on increasing volume and a decreasing market cap.