Bitcoin (BTC) and the crypto markets have continued to express increasing stability and have not yet made any large price movements despite it being a weekend trading session with lower-than-average trading volume.

It is important to note that Bitcoin and the aggregated markets have seen continuously declining trading volume over the past seven days, which may signal that the markets are gearing up for a large price swing in the near future.

Bitcoin (BTC) Slowly Advances Past $5,100 as Volume Declines

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up marginally at its current price of $5,115, up from its 24-hour lows of $5,050. It is important to note that BTC is currently trading at its daily highs, but declining trading volume may jeopardize the strength of any further upwards movements.

Bitcoin’s trading volume is currently at under $10 billion, down from its weekly highs of nearly $20 billion. This declining volume may lead to greater levels of volatility in the near future as BTC appears to be forming a consolidation pattern around its current price levels.

The overall crypto markets have also witnessed declining trading volume over the past week – dropping to its current levels of just over $30 billion from its seven-day highs of over $60 billion.

Analyst: BTC Likely to Continue Leading Crypto Markets in Near Term

Josh Rager, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, contrasted Bitcoin’s chart and the overall crypto market cap chart in a recent tweet, explaining that he looks towards BTC’s chart over the total market cap chart when assessing possible trades, as it currently dominates the majority of the markets.

“Therefore, when it comes to market forecast, I look at the Bitcoin chart first before serious investments & trades (it makes up 50%+ of the MCAP atm.) Then research Ethereum, followed by altcoin charts/volume (ETH chart is relative at times as it can lead Alts but not always,)” Rager explained.

Moreover, Rager later explained that the spike in volume in the total crypto market cap last week does not appear to be bullish, but it does seem to show a renewed interest in the markets from individual investors and traders.

“Currently, don’t see the extreme bullishness in Total MCAP setting record volume considering the record number of shit coins in the market along w/ BTC at 54% dominance. But it does show a renewed interest from investors/traders,” he explained.

Currently, don’t see the extreme bullishness in Total MCAP setting record volume considering the record number of shit coins in the market along w/ BTC at 54% dominance

As a fresh trading week kicks into gear, traders and investors will likely gain greater insight into which direction the markets are heading next as the market’s trading volume will likely pick back up.