The crypto market recorded massive growth in several areas, erasing the losses of the bear market. The market capitalization increased by 108% to around 869 billion dollars.
A new market report from CoinGecko shows the industry’s performance in different quarters, highlighting the key metrics that have led to the rise of various cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi).
CoinGecko 2023 Annual Crypto Industry Report is now LIVE 📊
The crypto market witnessed substantial growth in 2023, doubling its total market cap by $832B, driven by #Bitcoin's impressive resurgence.
Here are 6 key highlights you shouldn't miss! 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Ve7tLMCigD
— CoinGecko (@coingecko) January 17, 2024
According to the report, institutional inflows in anticipation of the approval of a Bitcoin ( BTC ) ETF by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have sent the asset into a frenzy and bulls are looking at a steep rise.
In the fourth quarter, market capitalization increased 55% from $1.1 trillion to $1.6 trillion. The price of Bitcoin also rose sharply, while the cryptocurrency’s total market capitalization increased by 108% in the last 12 months.
Trading volume, on the other hand, remained in the red compared to last year as it fell 31.6% to $58.9 billion, reflecting the lull in previous months and regulatory issues.
Over the past year, authorities around the world have tightened control over centralized exchanges to prevent a repeat of the FTX case, leading to multiple regulations and lawsuits in various jurisdictions.
In the United States, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have filed charges against Binance and other exchanges for offering services for unregistered securities and improper registrations.
These events collectively weakened investor confidence and caused spot exchange volumes to plummet, with Binance experiencing a continuous decline over many months before rebounding.
However, in Q4, trading volume increased 91% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), with $75.1 billion flowing into increasing DeFi numbers, while Assets Under Management (AUM) and Total Value Locked (TVL) increased in skyrocketed.
Bitcoin shapes the annual forecast
Although the broader market ended in the green, Bitcoin’s performance resulted in institutional investors entering the market with renewed appetite for cryptocurrency products.
According to the report, Bitcoin rose 155% in Q4 to a yearly high of $44,004, a price not seen since April 2022. The asset rose 72% in Q1, setting the tone for the rest of the year, while the hashrate rose 103% in 2023.
“The market then cooled in Q3 before recovering strongly in Q4 on anticipation of Bitcoin ETF approval and expected interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.”
Bitcoin’s dominance is reflected in a 9.2% increase in market share to 47.8%, while Ethereum and USDT have lost 1.5% and 2.7% and now have 15.9% and 5.3% of the market share, respectively hold the market.
Aside from the positives, malicious actors stole $2 billion through 463 exploits, leading to greater concern and regulatory scrutiny over the security of investor funds.
The largest incident was the $231 million Multichain bridging hack in July, while other incidents such as the $142 million Mixin, $ 123 million Poloniex , and $115 million Atomic Wallet for caused a stir.
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