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Source: coingecko Translation: Shan Oppa, Bitchain Vision
In the third quarter of 2024,The cryptocurrency market closed at a market capitalization of $2.3 trillion, maintaining a steady pace, but there were still significant fluctuations during the period.Geopolitical and economic events have had a significant impact on the crypto market.The Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged in July and cut interest rates by 50 basis points in September, changing the market trend this quarter.The Bank of Japan’s unexpected rate hike in July triggered unexpected market volatility, while new stimulus in China suggests more structural liquidity could emerge.
Our “Crypto Industry Report for the Third Quarter of 2024” fully covers the crypto market landscape, deeply analyzes Bitcoin and Ethereum, and explores the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT) ecosystems, and review the performance of centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX).
7 highlights of CoinGecko’s crypto industry report for the third quarter of 2024:
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The total market value of the crypto market fell 1.0% in the third quarter of 2024, and was $2.33 trillion at the end of the quarter.
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Bitcoin’s dominance has increased, now accounting for 53.6% of the total crypto market capitalization.
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Major asset classes outperformed Bitcoin, with gold rising 13.8%.
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The forecast market is expected to grow by 565.4% in the third quarter of 2024, with Polymarket accounting for 99% of the market share.
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Ethereum Layer 2 transaction volume increased by 17.2% in the third quarter of 2024, with Base outstanding performance.
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Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges fell to US$3.05 trillion, down 14.8% month-on-month.
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Ethereum remains the dominant chain of decentralized transactions, but is rapidly losing market share to Solana and Base.
1. The total market value of cryptocurrencies fell -1.0% in the third quarter of 2024, with a market value of US$2.33 trillion at the end of the quarter
At the end of the third quarter of 2024, the total market value of cryptocurrencies fell -1.0% ($95.8 billion) to $2.33 trillion.On July 22, the market rose to $2.61 trillion, but it fell sharply on August 6 due to weak global economy.The Fed kept interest rates unchanged, while the Bank of Japan raised interest rates.
The global cryptocurrency market value subsequently fluctuated between $2.00 trillion and $2.20 trillion, then slightly rebounded to its current $2.33 trillion level driven by a sharp US rate cut by 50 basis points and China’s announcement of stimulus measures.
Meanwhile, the average trading volume in the third quarter of 2024 was US$88 billion, a slight decrease of -3.6% from the previous quarter.
2. The dominance of the Bitcoin market has been further enhanced, currently accounting for 53.6% of the total cryptocurrency market
Despite a slight decline in global cryptocurrency market capitalization in the third quarter of 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) successfully increased its dominance to 53.6%, a 2.7% increase from the previous quarter.It recorded a slight gain of 0.8%, but altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH) and BNB fell more significantly this quarter, so its dominance has declined.The last time BTC was able to dominate so much was in April 2021.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s dominance among the top 7 cryptocurrencies fell the most, down 3.6% in the third quarter and 13.4% market share at the end of the quarter.Despite the launch of the Ethereum ETF in July, the decline may be attributed to a decrease in interest in the Ethereum ecosystem.
3. Major asset classes outperform Bitcoin, with gold leading the gains, up 13.8%
Bitcoin (BTC) price rose slightly by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2024, easily surpassing most other major asset classes.Gold rose the most, up 13.8% this quarter.This is amid concerns about a slowdown in the U.S. economy and the escalating situation in the Middle East.
The yen also performed well this quarter, up 12.0% after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) unexpected rate hike in August and the Federal Reserve subsequently cut rates.The crude oil and U.S. dollar index (DXY) are the only major asset class that outperforms BTC due to market concerns about weaker demand and rate cuts.All major fiat currencies rose against the US dollar.
4. Forecast market growth in the third quarter of 2024, Polymarket leads with 99% market share
In the third quarter of 2024, the forecast market momentum was strong, with a growth of 565.4% as experts bet on the upcoming U.S. election.This has led to the trading volume in the top three forecast markets growing from $466.3 million in the second quarter to $3.1 billion in the third quarter.
However, most of the transaction volume came from Polymarket, which had a market share of 99% in September.Its bet volume increased by 713.2% over the same period and trading volume increased by 848.5%.Since the beginning of 2024, the “Winner of the U.S. Presidential Election” has bets of $1.7 billion, accounting for about 46% of Polymarket’s annual transaction volume.
5. In the third quarter of 2024, Ethereum Layer 2 transaction volume increased by 17.2%, and Base led the rise
In the third quarter of 2024, the total transaction volume of the top ten Ethereum Tier 2 (L2) increased steadily, with daily transaction volumes approaching 10 million by the end of September.By comparison, the Ethereum mainnet handles about 1 million transactions per day.
Base has seen a significant increase in network activity since the beginning of the year, making it the most active L2 to date, accounting for 42.5% of all transactions in the third quarter.Next is Arbitrum, which accounts for 18.9% of the deal, followed by Blast, which accounts for 8.1% of the same period.Manta Pacific saw a surge in trading volume in August, with most transactions attributed to a fully on-chain Telegram applet called Taman.However, once the initial publication activity is over, the activity on the network will gradually decrease.
6. In the third quarter of 2024, the spot trading volume on centralized exchanges fell to US$3.05 trillion, a month-on-month decrease of -14.8%
In the third quarter of 2024, spot trading volume on the top ten centralized exchanges (CEXs) was US$3.05 trillion.A month-on-month decrease of -14.8%.
Binance remains the largest CEX, with a market share of 38% as of September 2024.However, this is the first time since January 2022 that Binance has had a market share of less than 40%.Meanwhile, Crypto.com came from behind and became the second-largest CEX in September, leaping from ninth place in the second quarter.It is also the fastest-growing CEX among the top 10, up 160.8% month-on-month.In September, it had a market share of 14.4%.
OKX and Gate.io both saw a decline in trading volume in the third quarter, down more than 30%.Coinbase’s trading volume also fell by -23.8%, falling from sixth to tenth in the third quarter.
7. Ethereum was once the dominant chain of DEX trading, but its market share is quickly being seized by Solana and Base
In the third quarter of 2024, Ethereum was the dominant chain of DEX trading, although its market share is currently under 40%.From July to September 2024, Ethereum’s trading volume showed a downward trend, with cumulative trading volume down 19.6% month-on-month to $130.5 billion.
Driven by numerous meme coins, DEX trading activities on Solana continue to flourish.As of the end of September, its market share was 22%, with trading volume of $21.5 billion.Meanwhile, despite the slow development of the cryptocurrency market in the third quarter, Base’s market share continues to grow.Base’s trading volume grew by 31.4%, allowing it to surpass Arbitrum in September with a dominance of 13% and $12.3 billion in trading volume.
Tron is the new top ten, replacing Blast, which saw a sharp drop in trading volume after TGE.With the release of SunPump, the memecoin generator on Tron, trading volume surged.In September, the network successfully occupied 2% of the market share with $1.7 billion in transactions.
