In the fourth quarter of 2023, the crypto market experienced a boom in anticipation related to ETFs, especially with the growing optimism surrounding the potential approval of US spot Bitcoin ETFs. This optimism contributed to a bullish market sentiment, leading to a significant increase in the total crypto market capitalization from $1.1 trillion to $1.6 trillion, representing a 55% increase. During this period, the price of Bitcoin rose from $27,000 to $42,000.
Considering the entire year of 2023, the crypto market has seen significant growth, more than doubling its total market capitalization from $832 billion at the beginning of the year. This remarkable expansion was mainly driven by Bitcoin’s impressive resurgence, which experienced a 2.6x increase. After the challenges and stagnation experienced in 2022, 2023 was a strong year of recovery for the crypto industry.
Our comprehensive 2023 Crypto Industry Report covers everything from the crypto market landscape to analyzing Bitcoin and Ethereum, deep dives into the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystems, and reviews how centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) have acted.
We’ve rounded up the key highlights, but be sure to dig into the full 52 slides below.
Top 6 Highlights from CoinGecko’s 2023 Crypto Industry Report
Total crypto market cap rose +108.1% in 2023, from $829B to $1.72T
Bitcoin Grows +155.2% in 2023, on Growing Confidence in an ETF Approval
Ethereum rose +90.5% in 2023, although it was overtaken by Bitcoin
Solana recorded a meteoric rise of +917.3% in 2023, with a resurgence in bullish narratives
NFT trading volume stood at $11.8b in 2023, 44% of 2022 figures
Crypto Trading Volume Hits $10.3T 2023 Q4, Up +53.1%
1. Total Crypto market cap increased +108.1% in 2023, from $829B to $1.72T
The total crypto market capitalization climbed +108.1% in 2023, or $869.0 billion in absolute terms.
In terms of trading volume, it climbed throughout the year, with 2023 Q4 average daily trading volume at $75.1 billion, a +91.9% QoQ increase. The overall daily trading volume stood at $58.9 billion, which is still -31.6% lower than 2022 figures.
Notable moves within the top 30 cryptos in 2023 Q4 include Solana (SOL) climbing from #7 to #5, and Avalanche (AVAX) from #22 to #9. Solana managed to climb thirteen places in 2023 alone, after starting the year in the #18 spot. New entrants to the top 30 include Internet Computer (ICP) at #16, Near Protocol (NEAR) at #23, Optimism (OP) at #26, and Injective Protocol (INJ) at #30. Hedera (HBAR), Binance USD (BUSD), Monero (XMR) and True USD (TUSD) slipped.
2. Bitcoin Grows +155.2% in 2023, With Increasing Confidence in an ETF Approval
Bitcoin (BTC) climbed significantly by +155.2% in 2023. In 2023 Q4 alone, BTC rose +64.3%, from $26,918 to $42,220. During this period, BTC reached an annual high of $44,004, levels not seen since April 2022.
BTC had a strong first leg in Q1, rising +72.4%, followed by another rise in Q2. It then pulled back in Q3, falling -11.5%, before recovering in Q4. Similarly, the average trading volume of BTC fell at the end of Q1 and gradually declined in Q2 and Q3. It then picked up to $18.0 billion in Q4, a gain of +64.3% QoQ.
3. Ethereum rose +90.5% in 2023, although it was outperformed by Bitcoin
Ethereum (ETH) closed 2023 at $2,294, representing a gain of +90.5% on the year. ETH had its highest returns in 2023 Q1, rising +49.8% from $1,196 to $1,792. It then consolidated for the most part in Q2 and Q3 before recovering +36.4% in Q4. ETH hit a yearly high of $2,376 in December.
Despite the implementation of the Shanghai upgrade in April, which enabled the withdrawal of ETH, there were no significant price movements during that period. Average daily trading volume remained relatively flat in 2023, except in Q4, where it rose from $7.2 billion to $14.4 billion, a gain of +100.0%.
4. Solana recorded a meteoric rise of +917.3% in 2023, with a revival in bullish narratives
Solana (SOL) climbed +917.3% in 2023, from $10.0 to $101.3. SOL had its first leg in 2023 Q1, climbing +112.9%. Price action from SOL in Q2 and Q3 was mostly muted, with the FTX bankruptcy estate selling its holdings. It then experienced an aggressive rally in Q4, peaking at $121.5.
Average daily trading volume also rose in 2023, averaging $827.0 million in Q1, before rising to $2.0 billion in Q4. Solana has seen a resurgence in bullish narratives such as OPOS (“Only Possible on Solana”), its revival and resilience after FTX’s collapse, and numerous high-profile airdrops such as Pyth Network (PYTH) and Jito (JTO).
5. NFT trading volume stood at $11.8b in 2023, 44% of 2022 figures
NFT trading volumes across the top 10 chains reached $11.8 billion in 2023. However, this figure is still less than half of the NFT trading volume in 2022, which stood at $26.3 billion.
Trade volume in 2023 Q1 stood at $4.5 billion, but it fell dramatically in Q2 and Q3, where figures stood at $2.7 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively. It then rebounded to $3.2 billion in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to strong Bitcoin Ordinals trading volume.
Ethereum continued to be the dominant NFT chain in 2023, capturing 72.3% of trading volume. However, this is far from the 90% dominance it had in 2022. Chains like Bitcoin and Solana were coming, especially in 2023 Q4. Bitcoin overtook Ethereum in trading volume in December, with $808.0 million in trading volume. This can be attributed to the introduction of Ordinals earlier in the year.
6. Crypto Trading Volume Hits $10.3 Trillion 2023 Q4, Up +53.1%
Crypto recorded $36.6 trillion in trading volume in 2023. In 2023 Q4, volume increased from $6.7 trillion in Q3 to $10.3 trillion, a gain of +53.1%. This was the first quarter-on-quarter growth of the year, attributed to market sentiment swinging bullish in anticipation of Bitcoin ETFs.
Centralized exchanges (CEXs) dominated trading volume despite the fall of FTX in 2022, and Binance’s regulatory hurdles throughout 2023. CEX : DEX spot ratio stood at 91.4%, while CEX : DEX derivative ratio was 98.1% .
Read the report: CoinGecko’s 2023 Annual Crypto Industry Report
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