A report by Forbes Digital Assets has identified the periods during the week that Bitcoin (BTC) is at its most volatile. The researchers found that Friday is generally the most volatile day for the BTC market and Monday mornings are usually slow.

The report focuses only on Bitcoin volatility and is based on more than 1.6 million data points taken from the past two years.

The data comes from four major cryptocurrency exchanges: Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, and Binance, and includes only BTC/USD, BTC/USDT, and BTC/ETH markets. The data was provided by Inca Digital Securities NTerminal and the Forbes researchers used Splunk Enterprise tools to analyze it.

Those behind the report found that Friday is the day with the most volatility in general, while Saturday is normally the least volatile. Forbes Digital Assets notes in its write up that the expiry of both BitMEX and CME contracts on the last Friday of every month likely contributes to the heightened average market swings.

Although Friday takes the title for the most volatile day, it’s actually Wednesday at around 16:00 UTC that the absolute peak of average volatility seems to occur. The researchers identified this particular period as being around 36 percent more volatile than the average of the rest of the week.

Forbes Digital Assets also pointed to the daily BitMEX withdrawal window as a potential contributor to volatility at certain periods. The popular exchange platform only processes withdrawals once a day at 13:00 UTC. However, there is no noticeable spike at this time. The most volatile time period on average throughout the week is around 16:00 UTC.

By contrast, the time of the week experiencing the least volatility on average is Monday morning Eastern Standard Time. Apparently, traders, like the rest of us, aren’t at their most active at the very start of the working week!

As well as providing data on the average volatility of the Bitcoin market by time period, Forbes Digital Assets also gives some technical analysis in its report. The researchers point to generally low volatility and volumes as potential indicators of a further move to the downside, with support being strong around the $7,500 price level. That said, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently in the oversold territory, which is a more bullish indicator.

What do you think is behind the surging volatility at the end of the week and prompt slump on a Saturday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.