CoinDesk has added Bitfinex to the Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) today as of 16:00 GMT.
Bitfinex, which is incorporated in Hong Kong, has been on CoinDesk’s radar for possible inclusion in the BPI for some time now.
Over the past several weeks, and particularly since the decline of Mt. Gox, we have observed that Bitfinex has been able to sustain a dramatic increase in its share of the total volume of US dollar-denominated bitcoins traded.
CoinDesk has also verified that Bitfinex meets the CoinDesk BPI criteria, which include rules ranging from minimum trade size to maximum customer withdrawal delays.
Three horse race
In late 2013, Bitfinex was already the fourth largest exchange. However, it was a distant fourth compared to the big three exchanges that comprised the BPI during this time: Bitstamp, BTC-e, and Mt. Gox – all of which averaged at least 30% of US dollar-denominated bitcoin trading volume (see Table 1).
Sources: CoinDesk, BitcoinAverageIn contrast, for much of late November and December in 2013, Bitfinex’s overall share of total US dollar-denominated bitcoin trading volume was in the single digits, averaging only 6% of the total.
Rapid rise
Much has changed in the bitcoin exchange world since December, starting with Bitfinex surpassing the now bankrupt Mt. Gox on several days of trading in January.
Bitfinex also recently leapfrogged BTC-e, another BPI component, with more US dollar-denominated bitcoins exchanged in five of the last six trading days, and almost half of the past 29 trading days (see Table 2).
Top 3 Bitcoin Exchanges $USD Volume Market Share, late-2013 (% of total $USD exchanged)Have you got some feedback on the CoinDesk BPI criteria? Are there other exchanges you think should be included? Please share your thoughts in the comments below or send them to contact@coindesk.com.
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