A weekend report from Binance reveals that recent developments surrounding Bitcoin have breathed new life into the cryptocurrency sector over the past two months.
The crypto market’s valuation has surged by an impressive 110 percent year-to-date, as detailed in the Binance report. In the final quarter of 2023, the market witnessed a $870 billion upswing, representing a 55 percent increase from the third quarter of this year (July to September). The surge in non-fungible token (NFT) sales in recent months, coupled with the anticipation around Bitcoin ETF approvals in the US, are cited as key factors propelling the crypto market cap upward.
This positive shift in market dynamics is a welcome relief for investors who experienced a sluggish market since the conclusion of 2021.
As Bitcoin reached a nineteen-month high of approximately $44,000 (around Rs. 36 lakh), NFTs built on the Bitcoin blockchain also experienced a surge in value. Particularly, ordinal NFTs, engraved on the smallest BTC unit known as Satoshi, not only generated excitement this year but also refocused attention on the NFT sector.
Binance points to two significant developments around Bitcoin in the last two months that have rejuvenated the crypto sector. The filings for BTC ETFs in the US by asset management firms like BlackRock and the introduction of BTC’s first BRC-20 token, Ordi, are noteworthy events that boosted Bitcoin prices and consequently led other altcoins to year-to-date recoveries.
The report states, “NFT volumes have broken their eight-month downtrend and increased nearly 200 percent month-on-month (M-O-M) in November. Bitcoin was the most popular chain, with over $375 million (roughly Rs. 3,128 crores) in NFT volume, exceeding even Ethereum NFTs that made $348 million (roughly Rs. 2,903 crore).” It further mentions, “Bitcoin has had an eventful year with Ordinals and BRC-20s and saw a resurgence in interest in November. News of a spot Bitcoin ETF looks positive.”
In addition to Bitcoin’s resurgent performance, Binance highlights other contributing factors that have propelled the crypto market cap to its current valuation of over $1.6 trillion (roughly Rs. 133,48,856 crore).
The report notes that several alternative Layer-1 blockchains have surpassed Ethereum recently, citing Solana and Toncoin as examples that have made a noticeable impact in the market. Furthermore, the adoption of Zero-Knowledge (ZK) protocols has sparked discussions about the extensive use cases of blockchain technology.
In November, fees for the top 20 crypto projects surged by 84 percent compared to October and rose over 100 percent higher compared to September this year.
“The last few weeks have been exciting and a helpful change of pace from the building-focused months that came before. As the noise increases, new entrants join the market, and things get more frenzied, it is crucial to make sure you are tracking the right metrics and following the important narratives,” noted the report.
