How institutional dark pools quietly ate 15% of crypto volume and killed the retail whale-watching edge

sFOX says execution through crypto dark pools rose from negligible volume in April to 15% of monthly volume by June. Separately, the firm's July 30 report puts OTC-desk routing at 77.7% of institutional volume moving through the platform, versus 18.4% landing on public exchanges. May's dark-pool volume alone came to $147 million.Diana Pires of sFOX told CryptoSlate that the change is structural, comparing it with the repositioning that equities and foreign exchange markets went through years ago.RouteShare / data pointWhat retail seesWhat retail missesDark poolsRose from negligible in April to 15% by JuneLess visible market impactDirection, size and identity of large tradesOTC desks77.7% of institutional routed volumeResidual flow after execution is managedThe original block tradePublic exchanges18.4% of institutional routed volumeVisible bids, asks, spreads and volumeThe full institutional decisionAggregated venues14 to 19 venues used monthlyMore consistent pricing across marketsWhere the trade actually originatedMay dark-pool volume$147 millionLittle or no visible order-book signalA meaningful pool of hidden institutional activityWhy institutions use crypto dark poolsLarge trades...