Crypto: What Binance's Semi-Annual Report Reveals About the Market in 2024

The world’s leading crypto exchange, Binance, is celebrating its seventh anniversary this month. This is an opportunity for the company to reflect on past achievements and look to the future. On this occasion, Binance has released its semi-annual report for 2024, offering a detailed overview of the current state of the crypto market. Here are the key takeaways from recent developments and future perspectives.

A positive report for the crypto market in the first half of the year

Binance’s report for the first half of 2024 reveals a notable growth of 37.3% in the total market capitalization of crypto. This reached approximately 2.27 trillion dollars. This result is mainly driven by key events such as the Bitcoin halving in April and the launch of spot BTC ETFs in the United States.

However, the second quarter saw a significant correction, with a 14.3% decrease in total capitalization. Despite this, Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, remains particularly optimistic about the future. He notably declared: “We are celebrating our seventh anniversary with events and rewards for our users, and we have high expectations for the future of the market.”

Innovations in the protocol sector

The report highlights significant developments in the domains of Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols. Bitcoin continues to dominate the market, supported by the explosion of protocols like Runes and the approval of BTC ETFs. Ethereum, on its part, has strengthened its ecosystem with the explosion of restaking and the implementation of EIP-4844, which improves network efficiency.

Binance also highlighted the development of its own BNB network, with projects like opBNB and Greenfield. These projects aim to expand the capabilities of the blockchain.

The report points out that the Layer 2 sector has been particularly dynamic, with a 90% increase in total value locked (TVL). The allure for airdrops, especially in the zero-knowledge (zk) projects domain, has attracted many investors and developers.

The continued growth of DeFi and stablecoin markets

Regarding the DeFi sector, the report reveals a 72.8% increase in TVL, rising from 54.4 billion dollars to 94.1 billion dollars. Stablecoins have also experienced a notable recovery, reaching a market capitalization of 161 billion dollars. This figure is approaching the levels prior to the crash of TerraUSD (UST) in April 2022. Tether (USDT) remains the market leader with a capitalization of 112.9 billion dollars, while Circle (USDC) and Ethena (USDe) have seen their market share increase.

The report also indicates difficulties for the NFT market, with a decline in sales and floor prices. On the other hand, the Web3 gaming sector has maintained user growth despite a decline in token capitalization. Projects like Pixels and Hamster Kombat have managed to attract players through airdrops and marketing initiatives.

In summary, Binance’s semi-annual report offers a comprehensive view of the current state of the crypto market. Investors and observers will need to closely follow these developments to navigate through a rapidly evolving crypto environment.