On Christmas Eve this year, Bitcoin broke another record: December 24, 2023 saw a lifetime surge in daily transactions and hashrate. Miners confirmed 723,459 transfers in a single day and a transaction rate of over 720,000, already exceeding the latest record in November 2023. The transaction record was mainly caused by Ordinal inscriptions.
Read on for more crypto highlights from 2023 and what to expect in 2024.
Market Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in USD at the time of sending. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
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News Snaps
New Ethereum Token Standard
The Ethereum community has approved the ERC-3643 standard, the first-ever compliant tokenization standard. ERC-3643 introduces a robust framework for tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), securities, payment systems, and loyalty programmes.
Circle’s New Euro Stablecoin
Circle has launched its Euro-backed stablecoin, EURC, on the Solana blockchain. The company intends EURC to be a regulated e-money token under EU regulations. Solana-based DeFi apps and digital wallets have added support for the stablecoin as well.
And Another Euro Stablecoin
Galaxy Digital, Flow Traders, and DWS have partnered to form a new venture called AllUnity, which will issue a fully collateralized Euro-denominated stablecoin. AllUnity plans to issue the Euro stablecoin on all major public permissionless L1s and L2s, and it will be regulated by Germany’s financial supervisory authority, BaFin.
The Sandbox Transitions to Polygon
Virtual gaming world The Sandbox transitioned its digital marketplace from Ethereum to Polygon, aiming to reduce fees and enhance its user experience. This move allows users to mint assets at a lower cost and sell their creations, earning royalties on resales.
New CryptoPunks Wrapper
Yuga Labs introduced a new wrapper called ‘CryptoPunks 721’ for the popular CryptoPunks collection. It allows the early NFTs, which were created before the widely used ERC-721 standard, to be traded and utilized more effectively, including borrowing against the asset.
What’s Ahead
Bitcoin Halving Expected for April 2024
Bitcoin’s halving, which describes the decrease of Bitcoin miners’ block rewards by 50% every four years, will be an important event in 2024. Expected to happen in April 2024, the reward for producing one block will be halved from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC.
The reduced supply of BTC is commonly seen as a bullish signal for its price – a trend shown in historical halving events.
Read more on how to navigate the 2024 halving here.
Chart of the Week
Despite challenging global economic conditions, cryptocurrency adoption growth remained strong in 2023. As of November 2023, the number of crypto owners worldwide reached 575 million. During the year, the monthly average adoption growth rate was 2.8%.
Depending on market conditions, we expect the number of global crypto owners to reach 700 to 900 million in 2024.
Research & Insights
2023 Year Review
2023 has been an eventful year for the crypto industry. Here, we curate some of the top crypto events and trends of 2023 in numbers.
Key Takeaways:
- In a challenging macroeconomic environment, the total cryptocurrency market cap increased during 2023 to reach over $1.4 trillion (+70.7% YoY growth). A swell of optimism surrounding Spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the latter half of 2023 was likely a major driver of the industry.
- The highly anticipated Ethereum Shapella hard fork was considered a significant change to the network. The implementation of EIP-4895 enabled validator withdrawals of staked ETH from the Beacon Chain. The success of the Shapella upgrade served as a catalyst for the development of the liquid staking market.
Ethereum saw over 28 million ETH (23.6% of the total ETH supply) deposited into the Ethereum Beacon Chain staking contract. Over a third of the total ETH staked is locked up in liquid staking.
- 2023 was a watershed year for generative artificial intelligence (AI), driven by the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI. Industry experts have begun to analyze the potential applications of AI-generated content in Web3. With the AI hype, the market capitalization of AI-related tokens rose from just over $8 billion at the start of 2023 to nearly $28 billion (as of 30 November 2023).
Read more of our 2023 Year Review and 2024 Year Ahead.
NFT Spotlight
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Holding a ‘Cretins Munks Crew’ NFT not only enhances your collection with a quirky collectible, but you also get access to their DAO, allowing you to have a say in the direction of their project. Furthermore, collectors receive rebates from the royalties earned.
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Product Picks
Trading Competitions on the Crypto.com App and Exchange
With over 80 trading competitions held on both the Crypto.com App and Exchange this year, there’s never been a better time to trade your favorite tokens. More than $10,000 in rewards were distributed weekly in 2023, with exclusive sponsored prizes from our partners PSG, Serie A, UFC, Formula 1, and more.
We’re just getting started! Don’t miss out on both our current and upcoming Trading Competitions here.
Enhanced Loyalty Programs in the Crypto.com App
This year, we’ve focused on giving back and rewarding our users with Badges and Rewards+. Badges are awarded based on your trading volume. Upon acquiring a Badge, you’ll get a surprise Diamond reward plus exclusive access to an in-app experience, such as a personalized home screen or trade confirmation message.
For more information on Badges, check out the Help Center.
Whether you’re a seasoned trader or just dipping your toes into crypto, Rewards+ is designed to empower your journey with Crypto.com. Rewards vary across 20 different levels, granting users higher Earn bonuses, extra Crypto.com Visa Card rewards, referral boosters, and trading rebates. You’ll also receive a signature milestone for each level you unlock. For more details, visit the FAQ here.
New Updates in the DeFi Wallet
The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet introduced a slew of updates this year in its mission to serve as your gateway to the world of Web3. Some prominent enhancements include native cross-chain swaps powered by LayerZero technology, on-chain staking for ETH and MATIC, and the ability to easily purchase crypto with your credit or debit card.
Even for seasoned Web3 veterans, new features such as the Degen Arcade ensure that the DeFi Wallet is a mainstay in your arsenal when navigating the on-chain world. Download the DeFi Wallet here.
Crypto.com App New Token Listings
Dogwifhat (WIF)
Dogwifhat is a cryptocurrency minted on the Solana blockchain. It draws inspiration from the “Dogwifhat” meme and is categorized alongside other dog-themed tokens like BONK, all of which have gained popularity recently.
Crypto Level Up
What Is Bitcoin Dominance?
Bitcoin dominance refers to the ratio of Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization to the global cryptocurrency market capitalization. It’s derived by BTC’s current market cap divided by the global cryptocurrency market cap. Find out why this number is watched closely by the community.
How Cryptocurrency Traders Use Bitcoin Dominance
Cryptocurrency as a whole tends to follow BTC’s lead. That’s why traders use Bitcoin dominance alongside other data points to get a pulse on the market, manage risk, spot possible trends, and identify trading opportunities.
The Importance of Bitcoin Dominance
While Bitcoin dominance is a useful tool, there are cryptocurrency enthusiasts who question its reliability as a market indicator as well, given how complex the entire ecosystem is. Nonetheless, this metric still lends a measure of perspective on how cryptocurrency is evolving.
Get the full scoop on Bitcoin Dominance.
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Decoder
Sharding
Sharding is a scaling method in which a large database is separated into smaller and more easily managed parts in order to increase the transaction load capacity and improve a network’s efficiency.
It involves splitting a blockchain into multiple ‘shards’ and storing them across a number of databases. Each shard consists of its own data and is independent of other shards.
Sharding is one of several solutions to increase transaction throughput and disperse the computational workload across nodes on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In doing so, it eases the computational burden and allows for simultaneous processing of data. Additionally, sharding ensures that no single node is responsible for processing an entire network’s transaction load.
Security Tips
Taiwan Arrests 10 Suspects of US$6 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud
In mid December 2023, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced that it arrested 10 suspects of a cryptocurrency fraud case. Over 100 individuals were scammed out of US$6.39 million worth of USDT by a fraud ring these 10 suspects were allegedly a part of.
Protect Yourself From Cryptocurrency Scams With This Guide
Do your own research. Do not purchase cryptocurrency based on the advice of someone you’ve just met or only know online. Always perform your own research before deciding if a certain token is right for your portfolio.
Be careful of who you trust. Scammers may use various tactics to gain your trust, such as pretending to be someone you know, offering you financial advice, or promising you high returns. They may also use fake profiles, websites, or apps to impersonate legitimate platforms or services. Always verify the identity and legitimacy of the person or platform.
Beware of fraudulent platforms. Never sign up for an account on a cryptocurrency platform without thorough research. If you suspect an exchange or wallet is a scam, quickly seek out an alternative.
Seek help. If you fall victim to an attack, act immediately to protect yourself. Alert your financial institution and local authorities as soon as possible.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.
