The number of traders is increasing more than before as more people are generally becoming more interested in ways to become more financially independent and as thus in search of skills like trading.
Does the number of traders directly affect the volatility of the market? If it does, can we assume that trading was easier before with less traders (less volatility) than now when there are more traders, and the market more volatile?
Number of traders does not have a direct impact or effect on the volatility of the market
Lower liquidity usually results in a more volatile market and cause prices to change suddenly, higher liquidity usually creates a less volatile market in which change in prices won't really affect the direction of of the market