Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has released its latest report on the state of the crypto industry in the first half of 2023, revealing the challenges, trends and opportunities shaping the market.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has outperformed many traditional financial assets with an 87% year-to-date (YTD) price increase.
Bitcoin also increased its market dominance to 50%, the highest level since April 2021, showing a low correlation with other asset classes.
The report also covers developments and innovations in various sectors of the crypto industry, such as layer 1 blockchains, layer 2 solutions, stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming and venture capital.
Some key findings include:
- Tier 1 blockchains witnessed major events and milestones in the first half of 2023, such as Ethereum's liquid staking reaching new heights and DeFi creating a new sub-industry called LSTfi (Liquid Staking Finance), BNB Chain's launch of its scalability solution BSC-20.
- Tier 2 solutions have seen increased adoption and innovation, particularly in the area of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). The report highlighted the release of the first fully functional zkEVMs (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines), enabling Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to run on ZK rollups.
The report also states that many big investors are interested in L3s, Superchains, Hyperchains etc. It is noted that they put forward their future visions for blockchain networks such as
- Stablecoins have undergone significant changes in their market composition despite the 7.0% drop in global stablecoin market cap. Among these changes, USDT experienced a notable 25.8% increase in market share to YTD, resulting in its separation from the main stablecoin trio that also includes USDC and DAI.
- DeFi continued to uncover new uses and attract more users, particularly decentralized exchanges (DEXs), which posted a 32.4% increase in trading volume since the start of the year.
- Gaming-related tokens have greatly increased their prices during the first half of 2023, taking advantage of the widespread recovery in the market. Currently, over 67% of games are based on BNB Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon. The report also highlights some of the trends and opportunities emerging in the gaming industry, such as play-to-earn models, metaverse platforms, cross-chain interoperability, and social impact initiatives.
- Venture capital financing for crypto projects declined in the first half of 2023 compared to the second half of 2022, both in terms of deal number and deal value. However, the report notes that some industries, such as infrastructure, gaming/entertainment, and DeFi, attract more investment than others.
*Not investment advice.