CoinMarketCap Q2 Report: Anticipates the Rise of RWA and Secondary Staking Protocols

CoinMarketCap, referred to as CMC, has released a market review report for the first half of the year, including the English and Simplified Chinese versions. Here is a summary.

Crypto Market Overview - The Lost Second Quarter

Why describe the second quarter as "lost"? According to CMC, although the total crypto market cap reached $1.17 trillion by the end of the second quarter, a growth of nearly 48% since the beginning of the year, several points explain why the market did not make significant progress in the second quarter:

• The total crypto market cap was actually close to the end of the first quarter.

• The top twenty exchanges peaked in trading volume in March, with a 36% decline in trading volume in the second quarter.

• The first quarter saw product iterations under technologies like Arbitrum, ZkSync, Blur; the main narrative of the second quarter, however, was meme coins and BRC20.

AI and Big Data, VR/AR Projects Rising

CMC categorizes crypto projects into ten segments, with some key points:

• AI and Big Data: Market cap grew by 323% since the beginning of the year.

• VR/AR: Market cap grew by 704% since the beginning of the year.

• Meme coins: Over 260 new projects, followed by AI and Big Data with 61, and DeFi with 47.

Bitcoin Key Events Review

• Ordinals: NFT protocol Ordinals driving Bitcoin.

• Bank Crisis: Banks like Silicon Valley facing liquidity crisis.

• Million Dollar Bet: Former Coinbase CTO Balaji betting on Bitcoin surpassing a million in three months.

• MicroStrategy: MicroStrategy repaying Silvergate loan at a discount, further investing in Bitcoin.

• Inflation Index: US March CPI up 5% year-on-year as expected.

• BRC20: Rise of Bitcoin homogenized token protocol.

• Tether: USDT issuer to repurchase Bitcoin to strengthen reserves.

• Hong Kong: Introducing cryptocurrency regulatory framework.

• SEC: SEC listing 12 tokens as securities in Binance lawsuit.

• ETF: Institutions like BlackRock applying for Bitcoin spot ETFs.

• EDX: Wall Street giants Citadel, Fidelity, Jane Street supporting exchange EDX launch.

Most Watched Crypto Projects

The meme coin craze led by PEPE was one of the main highlights of the second quarter. Among the top ten coins users are interested in, PEPE, SHIB, and DOGE, three meme coin projects, are included.

Highest Gainers in the First Half of the Year: PENDLE

This list seems to exclude meme coins, with the highest gainer being LSDFi protocol Pendle Finance PENDLE.

Following is the public chain project Dione Protocol DIONE, focusing on renewable energy.

Conflux CFX saw significant growth due to its emphasis on legality and compliance in China, benefiting from Hong Kong's open attitude towards crypto regulation.

Additional: Pendle Finance Overview: A Look at Equilibria and Penpie Protocol Features in the Ecosystem.

Focus Areas for the Crypto Market in the Second Half of the Year

Bitcoin ETF

The crypto space's anticipation for a Bitcoin spot ETF needs no further explanation. Multiple ETFs are currently in the review process, but the review period is quite lengthy, with the longest potentially delayed until February 23, 2024.

Real World Assets RWA

Projects like Maple Finance, Goldfinch, and MakerDAO are increasingly focusing on integrating RWA assets.

CMC expects further segmentation in the RWA field starting in the second half of the year, with the first consumer-oriented products possibly launching by the year's end.

Review: What are RWA Real World Assets?

LSD, Secondary Staking Protocols

CMC mentions LSD protocols like Lido, Rocket Pool, with TVL growing by 138% and 220% respectively in the first half of the year.

Furthermore, within the LSDfi sector, TVL for Flashstake, Lybra, and Pendle Finance also saw rapid growth, with CMC anticipating that secondary staking protocols like EigenLayer will become new focal points in this area.