Benzinga | Sep 16, 2020 07:25AM EDT

Traders Piled Into Cannabis, Crypto, and Gold Securities On OTC Markets In August

Dollar volume on the OTCQX Market rose roughly 8.6% in August from July, with much of that increase coming from heightened trading activity in a select number of industries.

Of the top 30 most actively traded securities on the OTCQX Market last month, the names with the greatest month-over-month increases in volume all fit into three buckets: cannabis, crypto, and gold.

North and South American mining company GoldMining Inc. (OTCQX:GLDLF) experienced the greatest increase from July to August, as dollar volume rose 344%. Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund LLC (OTCQX:GDLC) followed with a 312% monthly increase, while Trulieve Cannabis Corporation (OTCQX:TCNNF) and Green Thumb Industries Inc. (OTCQX:GTBIF) increased 163% and 112% respectively.

The pattern is hardly a surprise. In an industry buoyed by the fact that many dispensaries were allowed to remain open during quarantine, Trulieve and Green Thumb have been among the best-performing cannabis companies this year. Both companies have seen their shares rise over 300% from the bottom in mid-March.

And with the major indexes rising to new all-time highs in the midst of a global pandemic, some investors have sought alternatives to U.S. equities--such as gold and cryptocurrencies. Along with GLDC, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX:GBTC) and Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust (OTCQX:ETCG) also saw dollar volume rise 31% and 45% respectively during the month.

In all, two of the top three most actively traded securities on OTCQX in July were crypto-related securities from Grayscale, and five of the top 10 are involved in cannabis.

The list of the top 10 most active securities for the OTCQX Market is below. Cannabis companies are denoted with an asterisk.

Company Name SymbolCountry August Dollar Volume

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) GBTC USA $1,862,222,369

Roche Holding Ltd RHHBY Switzerland $786,638,197

Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH)ETHE USA $326,284,216

Trulieve Cannabis Corporation*TCNNF USA $249,800,502

Green Thumb Industries Inc.* GTBIF USA $176,435,346

Curaleaf Holdings Inc.* CURLF USA $150,124,518

Planet 13 Holdings Inc.* PLNHF USA $132,887,119

Danone DANOY France $130,110,712

Cresco Labs Inc.* CRLBF USA $104,266,908

adidas AG ADDYY Germany $93,108,125

OTCQB

On the OTCQB Venture Market, DSG Global Inc (OTCQB:DSGT), GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (OTCQB:GPVRF), and Galaxy Next Generation, Inc. (OTCQB:GAXY) experienced the greatest month-over-month dollar volume increases.

The list of the top 10 most active securities for the OTCQB Market is below.

Company Name SymbolCountryAugust Dollar Volume

CytoDyn Inc. CYDY USA $476,197,034

Galaxy Next Generation, Inc. GAXY USA $213,694,808

Fannie Mae FNMA USA $135,240,459

GreenPower Motor Company Inc. GPVRF Canada $97,849,334

Freddie Mac FMCC USA $65,519,497

Humanigen, Inc. HGEN USA $60,266,131

TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc.TOMZ USA $52,399,841

TPT Global Tech, Inc. TPTW USA $45,060,406

Vystar Corp. VYST USA $44,068,244

NaturalShrimp Incorporated SHMP USA $43,775,621