Bitcoin rose more than 30 percent in August, but spot trading volume on major exchanges stayed at levels near a three-year low.

CoinPost, a blockchain outlet, reported on Aug. 31 that on-chain analyst Darkfost pointed to a continued gap in August between rising prices and trading volume.

Based on CryptoQuant data, bitcoin spot trading volume stayed at low levels similar to July. Darkfost said this represented a slump in volume for about three years since September 2023. Compared with trading volume in October 2025, when bitcoin recently formed a high range, it means actual participation did not keep pace with the scale of the price rise in the latest upswing.

Darkfost said bitcoin had risen sharply but volume, which reflects real demand from market participants, was not accompanying the move. He noted that the current trend continued in August.

By exchange, Binance had the largest spot trading volume. But it fell sharply to $44 billion from $198 billion. Even so, the August figure was up $1.6 billion from July. Darkfost described it as the first sign that volume had begun to stop falling.

Other major exchanges were also weak. Gate's volume fell to $14 billion from $53.4 billion, and Bybit slipped to $17.4 billion from $41.2 billion. On average across the three exchanges, the drop in trading volume was about 70 percent.

The market has confirmed that even as prices continue to rise, actual trading participation remains weak. As volume is one of the key indicators for judging whether a bull market can persist, the figures show it is hard to gauge market conditions based on price action alone.

Still, the fact that August volume held at nearly the same level as July left open the possibility that further declines could stop. Darkfost said investor interest may have bottomed out over the summer. He added that if volume accompanies price gains going forward, it could be a factor signalling entry into a new bull market.

Against this backdrop, the next focus for the market is whether price gains lead to an actual expansion in trading. Even if bitcoin continues to rise, cautious views could persist about the momentum of the current rally if a recovery in volume is not confirmed. On the other hand, if spot trading volume at major exchanges rebounds, it is expected to provide a clue to gauge the sustainability of the recent price strength.