The crypto market witnessed an impressive 19% surge in total market capitalization in October, marking the second-largest monthly gain of 2023. The bullish momentum was largely propelled by the anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval, as well as short liquidations driven by price spikes. A testament to the optimistic sentiment around Bitcoin was its rapid ascent following Cointelegraph's erroneous report on October 16. Subsequent pivotal events, including the U.S. court's reaffirmation of the Grayscale case's previous ruling and the preliminary listing of Blackrock's spot Bitcoin ETF, IBTC, on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation ("DTCC"), further bolstered this optimism. These events collectively drove Bitcoin past the $35,000 level, revitalizing the broader crypto market.
Monthly crypto market capitalization increased by 19% in October
Monthly price performance of the top 10 coins by market capitalization
MEvery coin within the top 10 concluded October in positive territory. Notably, SOL and LINK stood out from the pack, boasting monthly gains of 78% and 45%, respectively. Solana, given its robust performance, has erased the losses stemming from the FTX bankruptcy and has retraced in price back to November 2022's levels. This resurgence in confidence is underscored by the significant growth of its two primary staking protocols, Marinade Finance and Jito, with Marinade gaining 130% and Jito gaining 200% in monthly TVL. Meanwhile, LINK's surge seems intrinsically linked to Korean exchanges Bithump and Upbit, which collectively amassed 945K LINK amidst the coin's price surge. These factors, combined with the recent announcement of Staking 2.0, contributed to LINK's leading performance. Moreover, Bitcoin, fueled by the spot ETF narrative, marked a commendable 28% gain for the month.
ADA shook off its September stagnation, posting a 21% uptick. Doge's traction this month can potentially be traced back to PEPE, another prominent meme coin. The recent maneuvers by the PEPE team have redirected some market attention towards meme coin trading. Furthermore, XRP experienced a notable rally, marking its largest single-day surge in three months, spurred by the news of the SEC withdrawing charges against Ripple's leaders.
While TRX, ETH, and BNB didn't match the performance of some of their peers, they concluded October with respectable gains of 9.0%, 8.7%, 6.5%, respectively. Ethereum's subdued performance relative to Bitcoin was anticipated, given the prevailing market spotlight on the spot Bitcoin ETF. TON, contrasting its September rally, rounded off the month with a mere 0.09% increase.