The total cryptocurrency market cap surged by 64.5% in Q1 2024, reaching a peak of $2.9 trillion on March 13. This growth — adding $1.1 trillion — nearly doubled Q4 2023’s $0.61 trillion increase, fueled largely by the SEC’s approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.
Key Highlights
- Bitcoin soared 68.8%, hitting an all-time high of $73,098.
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold over $55.1 billion in AUM (as of April 2).
- EigenLayer recorded 4.3M ETH restaked, up 36% quarterly.
- Solana memecoins skyrocketed, with top 10 tokens adding $8.03B in market cap.
- NFT markets saw $4.7B in Q1 trading volume, led by Magic Eden.
- CEX spot trading hit $4.29T — the highest since Q4 2021.
- Ethereum’s DEX share dipped below 40% as rival chains gained traction.
Market Dynamics
- Daily trading volume averaged $34.1B (+89.8% from Q4 2023).
- BlackRock’s IBIT ETF accumulated $17B+ BTC, becoming the second-largest BTC ETF.
- Grayscale’s GBTC faced $6.9B outflows but retained its lead with $21.7B AUM.
Innovations & Trends
- Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs) held 52.6% of restaked ETH (2.28M ETH), with EtherFi growing 2,616% quarterly.
- Solana memecoins like Dogwifhat (WIF) and Book Of Memes achieved billion-dollar valuations within days of launch.
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NFT & CEX Landscape
- Magic Eden surpassed Blur in March with $760M volume after launching rewards and Yuga Labs partnerships.
- Binance reclaimed 50% CEX market share, while MEXC saw declines as traders focused on blue-chip assets.
Layer 2 Activity
- Arbitrum’s DEX volume outpaced Ethereum during STIP incentives but dropped to 8% share post-program.
- Solana and Base thrived with memecoin-driven transactions.
FAQ
Q: What drove Bitcoin’s Q1 price surge?
A: Primarily spot ETF approvals and institutional inflows, with IBIT and GBTC leading accumulation.
Q: Why did Ethereum’s DEX dominance decline?
A: Competing chains like Solana and Arbitrum captured volume with lower fees and memecoin hype.
Q: How are investors participating in restaking?
A: Mostly via LRT protocols (e.g., EtherFi), offering liquid exposure to EigenLayer’s yields.