The cryptocurrency market concluded Q3 2024 in stable condition, with the total market capitalization approaching $2.33 trillion. Global economic factors that affected the market include the following on December 6, the US Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate by 50 basis points.
CoinGecko, the world’s leading crypto aggregator platform, has shared the report of the 3rd Quarter (Q3) 2024 revealing facts and important events The Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points, unexpectedly reaching an all-time high of $2.61 trillion in July. However, the market started to decline the following month due to economic concerns. By the last week of September, it had slightly recovered.
As per the report, Bitcoin ($BTC) expanded its market share during Q3 2024 to 53.6%. This was 2.7% above the preceding quarter, although it only attained a 0.8% increase. The slump in major altcoins, especially Ethereum, which fell by 3.6% of market share, was associated with the increase in Bitcoin’s dominance. Despite introducing its ETFs, Ethereum ended the month with a reduced market share of 13.4%.
Crypto Market Cap Declines Slightly, reveals CoinGecko’s Report
As per the report shared by CoinGecko, Bitcoin ($BTC) was almost stagnant during Q3, and traditional assets such as gold and the Japanese Yen have proved to be better performers than $BTC. Gold rose 13.8%, boosted by concerns over economic decline and geopolitical link-ups. Likewise, the Yen rose by 12% after a surprise in the rates in Japan was pulled up. In contrast, crude oil and the US Dollar Index lagged behind Bitcoin, suffering from weak demand and rate-cut expectations.
The volume of prediction markets increased in Q3 by 565.4%, primarily due to rising attention to the upcoming US elections. The pie shifted with Polymarket leading, where it captured 99 % of the market share, recording increased volumes of betting and transactions.
In particular, bets on the winner of the US presidential election accounted for almost half of the trading in Polymarket during the past year, thus helping Bitcoin ($BTC) dominate the market.
Ethereum L2 Transactions on the Rise
CoinGecko report reveals that Ethereum Layer 2 solutions saw a 17.2% increase in transactions during Q3. Base led the way, responsible for 42.5% of all Layer 2 transactions. Other notable networks, including Arbitrum and Blast, also contributed to the steady increase in Layer 2 activity.
CEX spot trading declined to $3.05 trillion in Q3, or 14.8% compared to Q2. Binance was again the largest CEX, but it dropped below 40% for the first time since 2022. Crypto.com, nonetheless, experienced massive growth, recording the second position within the rankings with a coupled-up market share.
