Cointime

Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

2023 Q1 Crypto Industry Report

Validated Project

A new year brings new beginnings, as the crypto market woke from its end-2022 hibernation to shake off the bears, increasing 48.9% from a total market cap of $831.8B on Jan 1, 2023 to $1.238T on Mar 31, 2023. While it was not smooth sailing all the way, this run reversed losses stemming from FTX’s collapse, returning the market to heights before the Ethereum Merge. Prices of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are now hovering around $28,000 and $1,800 respectively, with BTC performing particularly well, gaining close to 72% this quarter.

Our comprehensive 2023 Q1 Crypto Industry Report covers everything from the crypto market landscape to analyzing Bitcoin and Ethereum, deep diving into the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystems, and reviewing how centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) have performed.

We’ve summarized the key highlights, but be sure to dig into the full 44 slides below.

1. The crypto market is off to a strong start, rallying 48.9% to $1.2 trillion

The crypto market is off to a strong start in 2023, having ended Q1 with a total crypto market cap of $1.2 trillion. Compared to its performance in 2022 where it rounded the year at $829 billion, this reflects a gain of 48.9% or $406 billion in absolute terms.

Meanwhile, average daily trading volume also picked up, having increased 30% QoQ from -33% in 2022 Q4 to a total of $77 billion in 2023 Q1. Trading volume saw an upswing in January 2023, when the market started rallying. It then spiked momentarily in early March due to increased volatility from the banking crisis, before tapering off in late March, when Binance removed part of their zero-fee trading incentives for BTC.

2. Bitcoin outperformed traditional asset classes, posting a 72.4% gain

Bitcoin was the best-performing asset in 2023 Q1, marking gains of 72.4% QoQ, followed by NASDAQ index (15.7%) and gold (8.4%).

All major asset classes ended the quarter in the green, except for crude oil that fell -6.1%. This outcome was unsurprising as crude oil was one of only two assets that ended 2022 on the upside. Crude oil initially dipped to as low as -17.2% due to a US inflation report citing a reduction in oil demand, on top of the US banking crisis—but managed to pare these losses towards the end of March.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), along with other fiat currencies, remained relatively flat throughout the same period, the result of cooler-than-expected inflation data.

3. Stablecoins shed $6.2 billion or 4.5%, with USDC and BUSD being the biggest losers

The top 15 stablecoins saw its market cap fall by 4.5% ($6.2 billion) due to the shutdown of Binance USD (BUSD) by Paxos and the brief USD Coin (USDC) depegging event during SVB’s collapse.

Already the largest stablecoin, Tether (USDT) further strengthened its foothold, adding 20.5% ($13.6 billion) to its market cap. USDC and BUSD saw losses of 26.9% and 54.5%, respectively, erasing 2022 gains.

Meanwhile, True USD (TUSD) entered the top 5 stablecoins, overtaking FRAX. Binance minted $130 million TUSD, while Tron minted a further $750 million, propelling its market cap to grow by 169.3%. In terms of stablecoins outside the top 5, GUSD and USDP fell 32.0% and 12.3% respectively.

4. DeFi ecosystem rose 65.2% by $29.6 billion, buoyed by the liquid staking sector rising 210.9%

The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector market cap jumped 65.2% in 2023 Q1, translating to $29.6 billion in gains, mainly driven by liquid staking governance token performance.

With the confirmation of Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade, liquid staking governance tokens saw a 210.9% increase in market cap in Q1. It has now surpassed lending protocols to become the 3rd largest category in DeFi.

Despite growing 44.3% in market cap in the first quarter of 2023, decentralized exchange (DEX) governance tokens continued to lose market share, and has dropped by -5% since January.

5. NFT trading volume saw a resurgence to $4.5B, with Blur flipping OpenSea as the top NFT marketplace

NFT trading volume picked up significantly, rising 68% from $2.1 billion in 2022 Q4, to $4.5 billion in 2023 Q1.

The majority of NFT trading volume came from Blur, a new NFT platform launched in October 2022. Within six months, it has dethroned former market leader OpenSea, growing its market share from 52.8% in December 2022 to 71.8% in March 2023, and currently dominates the top 6 NFT marketplaces. Meanwhile, OpenSea’s market share shrunk from 29.3% to 21.7% over the same period.

While most chains saw an increase in trading volume in Q1, Solana’s ecosystem waned. Magic Eden, the largest marketplace on the network, saw its trading volume drop from $73.9 million in December 2022 to $23.6 million in March 2023, a 67.9% decline. Prominent collections y00ts and DeGods also migrated to other chains, dealing a further blow to Solana.

6. Crypto spot trading volume up 18.1% reaching $2.8T in Q1, with DEXs outpacing CEXs’ quarterly growth

Spot trading volume across the top 10 crypto exchanges totaled $2.8 trillion for 2023 Q1, representing an 18.1% increase from 2022 Q4. Monthly trading volume has been on an upward trend since $0.5 trillion lows in December 2022. However, monthly volumes have yet to hit an average of $1 trillion, a figure last seen in the first half of 2022.

Amid the crackdown on CEXs by regulators worldwide, DEXs saw its growth outpace that of CEXs by nearly two times. DEXs grew 33.4% , versus 16.9% for CEXs in 2023 Q1. Despite this, the ratio of CEX : DEX trading volume remained above 90% throughout the same period.

Read the Report: CoinGecko’s 2023 Q1 Annual Crypto Industry Report

Read more: https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/2023-q1-crypto-report

Bitcoin Bitcoin $77,242.72
+0.66%
Crypto DeFi NFT
Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • 【AI.Claw Foundation Fully Acquires DexFV, Simultaneously Rebrands and Launches Flagship Perp-DEX DexSK, with Comprehensive Migration of Assets and Network Structure to SuperStrike】

    May 25, 2026 — According to official sources, AI.Claw Foundation announced that it has completed the full acquisition of the on-chain capital market infrastructure DexFV, and has simultaneously rebranded it as DexSK, aiming to establish it as the flagship Perp-DEX product within the AI.Claw Foundation ecosystem. Together with Strikebit.ai, SuperStrike, and other ecosystem components, it will comprehensively initiate the strategic convergence of the Web3 + AI Super Agent Financial Ecosystem.

  • Astarter locks in the DeFAI liquidation layer, occupying a critical position in emerging categories that remains unfilled by competitors

    With the rapid rise of the DeFAI (Decentralized Finance x Autonomous AI Execution) category in 2026, Astarter has secured the "clearing layer" position within this space, which remains unclaimed by competitors. Astarter is a decentralized AI + DeFi (DeFAI) infrastructure built for Web4, designed to create an economic system executable by AI, enabling autonomous AI agents to independently perform on-chain trading execution, strategy optimization, and real-time data processing. Industry comparative analysis reveals that the first three layers of the AI Agent economic architecture are already occupied by leading projects such as Olas, Virtuals, and Fetch.ai, leaving the "clearing layer" long vacant. Astarter, with its operational DeFi stack of four products since 2021, stands as one of the few publicly recognized projects to claim this position.

  • Central Bank's Open Market Operations Net Withdrawal of 243 Billion Yuan Today

    On May 25, the People's Bank of China conducted a 258 billion yuan 7-day reverse repo operation today, with a bidding amount of 258 billion yuan and a winning amount of 258 billion yuan, at an operation rate of 1.40%, unchanged from before. Due to the maturity of 500 billion yuan in 1-year Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) and 10 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repos today, there was a net withdrawal of 243 billion yuan.

  • Nikkei 225 Index Surpasses 65,000 Points

    On May 25, the Nikkei 225 index surpassed 65,000 points, setting a new historical high with an intraday increase of 2.64%.

  • Nikkei 225 Index Surpasses 64,000 Points, Sets Historical Record

    The Nikkei 225 Index has surpassed 64,000 points for the first time, setting a historical record, with an intraday increase of over 1%.

  • BTC Surpasses $77,000

    Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $77,000, currently priced at $77,012.01, with a 24-hour increase of 0.43%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • Iranian Official: Management of the Strait of Hormuz Will Not Return to Pre-War Status

    On May 25, local time May 24, Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, stated that the management of the Strait of Hormuz will not return to its pre-war status. He also mentioned that the strait is currently under Iranian control, and after the end of the state of war, Iran can facilitate the passage of vessels. Rezaei further stated that Iran has not negotiated with the United States regarding its enriched uranium stockpile and will never back down from its current position; the U.S. has no choice but to accept Iran's conditions.

  • Trump: US-Iran Agreement 'Not Fully Negotiated Yet'

    On May 25, U.S. President Trump stated on the 24th that the agreement between the United States and Iran is 'not fully negotiated yet,' accusing some uninformed individuals of 'unfounded criticism.' Trump posted on social media, saying, 'If I reach an agreement with Iran, it will be a good and appropriate agreement.' 'No one has seen it or knows its contents. It is not fully negotiated yet. So don't listen to those losers who criticize something they don't understand at all.' According to U.S. media reports, although the draft of the agreement has not been made public, some individuals in the U.S. have criticized it fiercely, claiming it actually undermines the goals set by the Trump administration. White House officials told the media that it will take 'a few more days' to finalize the agreement between the U.S. and Iran. (Xinhua News Agency)

  • Vitalik: Ethereum Foundation is Not the Central Manager of the ETH Ecosystem, Future Development Will Shift to 'Small and Long-term' Approach

    On May 25, Ethereum founder Vitalik shared his views on the future development direction of the Ethereum Foundation in a post on the X platform. He emphasized that this is just his personal opinion. The board does not consist solely of him, and he does not have more special powers than other board members. Aya Miyaguchi is leading most of the execution work for this transformation, while his own involvement is more focused on technical issues. The board is currently expanding, and his influence within the organization will continue to decline in the future, which, frankly, is what he hopes to see. By 2025, the Ethereum Foundation has made significant improvements in its execution capabilities. Many issues have been resolved, and the foundation continues to benefit from greater efficiency and a stronger focus on specific goals. However, as these issues were addressed, he began to care more about another concern: he often sees people saying, 'Vitalik has always talked about Ethereum needing to be decentralized, having privacy, and becoming a shelter technology, but why do the actions of the Ethereum Foundation not reflect these ideals?' Of course, there are those who hold completely different views. Some do not feel there is a crisis at all, but rather believe that the Ethereum Foundation has finally begun to take execution and business development seriously, and the next focus should be to continue along this path faster and stronger. Vitalik believes that this difference essentially reflects varying sensitivities to different types of criticism, and he is more easily hurt by criticisms regarding deviations from values. Vitalik stated that the Ethereum Foundation should not be 'the center of Ethereum,' but rather 'a node with clear responsibilities, existing alongside other nodes.' In the past, they have always said this, but many people in the ecosystem, including some within the foundation, hoped the foundation would become a true center. Now, they are taking concrete actions to ensure the foundation becomes the latter. This is particularly important because the Ethereum Foundation is essentially a resource-limited and organizationally limited entity. The foundation currently holds only about 0.16% of all ETH, which is even lower than many large ETH holders; whereas many other blockchain projects' 'central foundations' typically control 10%-50% of their tokens. The current Ethereum Foundation has decided to use its remaining resources to pursue 'long-term viability' rather than continuous expansion (which also means they will sell less ETH). The foundation will focus on those things that are crucial for Ethereum to become a censorship-resistant, control-resistant, open, private, and secure system, but that no one else would do if the foundation does not. This means they must make difficult choices. Some projects and individuals they highly respect may no longer belong to the foundation's system in the future. In fact, if they want important tasks to attract external capital, it may be necessary to keep some talented individuals, influential public figures, and those who share the mission and CROPS philosophy outside the foundation. This also means that the Ethereum Foundation will take a clearer and more principled stance on a cultural level.

  • ETH Surpasses $2100

    Market data shows that ETH has surpassed $2100, currently priced at $2101.04, with a 24-hour increase of 1.9%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

Daily Must-Read

Popular Activities

RaveDAO at Terra Solis by Tomorrowland: A Female-Led Techno Night Where Web3 Culture Converges

RaveDAO at Terra Solis by Tomorrowland: A Female-Led Techno Night Where Web3 Culture Converges

April 30 - April 30
Dubai

Popular Tags

Cointime
News
Contents
RSS
Company