Daily Volatility Decline? Bitcoin Has Seen $1K Range 43 Times In 2018

Bitcoin is famous for its daily price jumps and falls, but lately the charts seem to be bordering on the comatose.

Has the cryptocurrency's volatility really dropped or are we in business as usual?

Bitcoin has witnessed daily volatility above $1,000 as many as 43 times so far this year.

The number of days in 2018 when the trading range was above $1,000 was highest in January, passing that level 21 times.

Moving on, the number of days the trading range was above $1,000 in February dropped by nearly half to 13.

Since then volatility has indeed plummeted, dropping to seven days in March and just two days in April.

Since volatility tends to spike during bear markets and drop during bullish price action, this pattern is something that could have been expected.

As the bearish atmosphere prevailed early in the year, the frequency of trading ranges above $1,000 was at its highest, while the subsequent bullish shift in the market has had the opposite effect.

During the same time period, the average daily volatility dropped to $454. Further, the daily volatility stood at $278 yesterday - down almost 70 percent from the average daily volatility of $922 seen this year and below the 2017 average of $348. What happens next?

An extended period of low volatility is often followed by a sharp rise in volatility.