Focus
JPMorgan survey shows 72% of e-traders "have no intention" to trade crypto, but others plan to start
(Kitco News) -
A new report from investment bank JPMorgan gives mixed signals on digital assets for the upcoming year in crypto, showing that while most electronic traders have no plans for crypto, others plan to begin trading the new asset class in the coming years.
JPMorgan published their seventh annual e-Trading Edit on Monday, a survey report that provides insight into the intentions of electronic traders and predictions for the upcoming years. The company surveyed 835 market participants across 60 regions between Jan. 3 and 23, 2023, with questions about inflation, recession fears, asset classes and technologies among the hot topics covered in the report.
The e-Trading Edit asked traders to characterize their focus on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. 72% of traders surveyed, the overwhelming majority, responded that they “have no plans to trade crypto” this year or in the future. Another 14% of respondents said they’re not currently trading digital assets but plan to begin within the next five years, with another 6% planning to begin in 2023 or 2024. Only 8% of traders surveyed said they are currently trading crypto.
This year, JPMorgan also added cryptocurrencies to the question about what percentage of various products’ trading volume will be conducted through electronic trading channels, including API, multi-dealer platforms and single-dealer platforms. Traders responded that they expect to conduct 58% of their crypto trading activities through these channels in 2023, and forecast that percentage to rise to 69% in 2024.
This would bring it in line with all the other products in the survey, including commodities, futures and options, equity derivatives and foreign exchange, all of which will see between 70-74% of their trading volume conducted through electronic platforms.
Among the other significant findings, when asked what factor would have the most significant impact in 2023, recession risks were chosen by 30% of respondents, followed closely by inflation at 26%, then geopolitical conflict at 19%. In the 2022 survey, inflation was the runaway winner with 48%, while only 5% of respondents saw the threat of recession as the number-one concern.
Traders’ inflation outlook was broadly positive, with 81% of respondents predicting inflation would either decrease (44%) or level off (37%), and only 19% expecting it to rise further in 2023.
When asked what their greatest daily trading challenge will be in 2023, about 46% of traders chose 'Volatile markets,’ while 'Liquidity availability' decreased in ranked importance from 35% in 2022 to 22% in 2023. And on the question of which technologies will be most influential for trading in the next three years, artificial intelligence was the clear focus of traders, moving from 25% in the 2022 survey to 53% this year.