Main Takeaways
This blog previews the recent One Crypto Capital Research report discussing key developments in crypto markets over the past month.
March 2024 was another positive month for crypto, with total market capitalization increasing 16.3% as BTC breached a new all-time high above $73,000 on two occasions.
The DeFi market also sustained its uptrend, with TVL increasing 14%. Similar trends were seen in the NFT market, with monthly trading volume rising 14.6% to $1.41 billion.
Crypto Market Performance in March 2024
The crypto market continued its uptrend in March, ending the month with a 16.3% increase in total market capitalization. Bitcoin’s price reached a new all-time high, breaching $73,000 twice before sharply retracting, with the lowest point at around $60,000. Though capital inflows to spot BTC ETFs showed a slowdown in the latter half of March, they have still managed to capture over $12 billion in net inflows since they launched in January. As we move forward to April, we are less than 20 days away from the next Bitcoin halving, one of the most anticipated events in the crypto industry. Narratives around Bitcoin will likely continue to capture the market’s focus, with accompanying volatility in price action to be expected.
Most of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization saw positive price action in March, maintaining the market’s upward momentum from previous months. SHIB, TON, and DOGE led the way with monthly gains of 137.7%, 111.9%, and 70.1%, respectively. Recently, meme coin trading has emerged as a major narrative due to the popularity these tokens have gained across various networks, including Solana and Base. Factors such as price volatility and low unit bias have driven speculation on these coins.
SOL and BNB showed notable gains, closing the month with price increases of 54.7% and 50.4%, respectively. SOL saw impressive performance throughout March, reaching a new all-time high in terms of market capitalization and a record decentralized exchange (DEX) volume of $74.5 billion. Slowing down its recent surge but remaining noteworthy nonetheless, BTC experienced a gain of 13.9%, hitting a new all-time high above $73,000 on two occasions. XRP, ETH, and ADA were on the lower end of price performance for the month, with XRP and ETH increasing 6.1% and 5.0%, respectively, while ADA witnessed a decrease of 1.6%.
Decentralized finance (DeFi)
The DeFi market continued its uptrend in total value locked (TVL), recording a monthly gain of 14% for March 2024. Among the top ten blockchains, Solana and Base stood out with increases of 94% and 143%, respectively. Largely driven by the current frenzy surrounding meme coins, Solana’s DEX volume hit a new record of $60 billion. A similar trend was seen on Base, which also recorded a new high of $7.82 billion in volume. As meme coin trading heats up, the potential of these coins to drive adoption on these networks has become a popular topic of discussion within the community.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
