Crypto trading volume reached $36.6 trillion in 2023, according to the ‘2023 Annual Crypto Industry Report’ published by CoinGecko today. This surge reflects a remarkable rebound after FTX’s collapse in November 2022 and highlights the evolving landscape of digital assets.
Last year’s fourth quarter was particularly noteworthy, with $10.3 trillion in trading volume. This is a more than 53% quarterly growth compared to the $6.7 trillion seen in Q3, and also the first quarter-on-quarter growth of 2023. CoinGecko’s report attributes the rise primarily to a bullish market sentiment, fueled by the anticipation towards the approval of the first Bitcoin spot ETFs in the US.
The average daily trading volume in 2023’s Q4 reached $75.1 billion, up 92% from the previous quarter. Despite this, the overall daily trading volume for the year stood at almost $59 billion, still trailing behind 2022 figures by more than 31%.
The rankings within the top 30 crypto assets by market cap saw significant changes. Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX) made notable leaps, while new entrants like Internet Computer (ICP) and Near Protocol (NEAR) emerged in the top 30. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) also witnessed remarkable gains in 2023.
NFT Market Dynamics
The non-fungible token (NFT) market, while experiencing a decrease in trading volume compared to 2022, still managed to register approximately $12 billion in 2023. Ethereum continued its dominance in the NFT space, albeit with a reduced market share.
After starting a progressive decline in trading volumes from February to September 2023, the NFT market showed a shy rebound in October, followed by two large leaps made in November and December respectively.
Moreover, the introduction of Ordinals and the rising popularity of chains like Bitcoin and Solana marked significant developments in this sector.
A year of recovery
The report underscores that despite the fall of FTX in 2022 and the regulatory hurdles faced by Binance throughout 2023, centralized exchanges (CEXs) maintained their dominance in the market. The CEX to DEX spot ratio surpassed 91%, while the CEX to DEX derivatives ratio was even higher at 98%. This points to a continued preference for centralized trading platforms.
Heightened optimism, particularly around the potential approval of US spot Bitcoin ETFs, marked 2023’s Q4. This sentiment was represented by a 55% increase in the total crypto market cap, soaring from $1.1 trillion to $1.6 trillion. The growth in total market cap is even more substantial, reaching 108%, when the $832 billion seen at the start of the year is in perspective.
This expansion was primarily driven by Bitcoin’s impressive performance, which saw a 2.6-fold increase in 2023, rising from $27,000 to $42,000 during 2023’s last quarter alone.
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