THE MOST TRADED CURRENCIES IN 2016

Written by Texas Precious Metals December 29, 2016

Have you ever wondered which currencies receive the most trading action? The data for the following chart comes from a survey done every three years by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS).

Note that trading volume adds up to 200%, because each currency trade has a pairing.

The Chinese yuan is now the 8th most traded currency in the world, for a total share of 4.0%.

That means its share has doubled since the 2013 BIS report:

WHAT ABOUT BITCOIN?

The BIS is an international financial institution that is owned by the world’s central banks. As a result, something like bitcoin isn’t considered in their triennial reports.

Bitcoin is ending 2016 on a tear, and it will likely finish as the top performing currency of 2016 – a title it would continue to hold from the previous year.

But what is bitcoin’s trading volume like, relative to other currencies?

Bitcoin: In the last 30 days, about $3 billion of bitcoin has been traded, which averages out to $100 million per day.

Other Currencies: The total amount of forex transactions per day is $5.1 trillion. The estimated daily turnover of just the Chinese yuan is $202 billion per day.

That means that the yuan has approximately 2,000x the volume traded of bitcoin, while total forex is 51,000x the size. In other words, bitcoin has a way to go to become one of the world’s most traded currencies.

Want another look at the size of bitcoin in comparison to other markets? We put together a previous data visualization showing all the world’s money and markets compared against one another.

December 29, 2016
By Texas Precious Metals

Texas Precious Metals

Texas Precious Metals (TPM) is one of the largest precious metals companies in the United States. We operate an online precious metals business as well as a retail location in Shiner, Texas, and we run a fully rated underground Class 2 vaulting and logistics center used for short-term client storage, long-term company storage, and retail packaging and shipping services. Since 2011, Texas Precious Metals has processed more than half a billion dollars in client transactions. These transactions represent more than 42,000 orders to all 50 states, accounting for more than 300,000 troy ounces of gold (9.3 metric tons) and 10 million ounces of silver (311 metric tons). Since 2015, TPM has also been the No. 1 seller of precious metals coins on Amazon.com. In 2014, Texas Precious Metals was recognized as the No. 1 “fastest growing Aggie-owned or Aggie-led business in the world” by Texas A&M University, and in 2015, Inc. Magazine named it the No. 200 Fastest Growing Private Company in America.