- Q1 2023 witnessed an 83% surge in crypto market cap, with Stacks demonstrating exceptional QoQ growth and Ethereum maintaining dominance across several metrics.
- There was a significant shift in stablecoin dominance, with a marked increase in USDT due to issues with USDC and BUSD, causing a 30% QoQ increase in TRON’s stablecoin market cap.
The first quarter of 2023 has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for the blockchain ecosystem. Although the crypto market cap witnessed a remarkable 83% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) surge, network usage didn’t follow suit, sliding about 2.5%.
In the midst of this dynamic landscape, Stacks, known for enabling Bitcoin programmability, came into its own, exhibiting impressive growth in several domains. The network’s market cap skyrocketed by 340% QoQ, accompanied by a 218% revenue increase and about 35% uptick in network usage. The decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked (TVL) on Stacks leaped by 276%, while its Decentralized Exchange (DEX) volume surged by 330%.
Ethereum, however, retained its reigning position in terms of market cap, revenue, DeFi TVL, volume, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) volume, and full-time developers. The resilience and continued dominance of Ethereum in these critical segments underline its deeply entrenched position in the blockchain ecosystem.
Another intriguing aspect of Q1 2023 is the apparent shift in stablecoin dynamics. USDC faced temporary depegging issues, and Paxos was instructed to cease the issuance of Binance USD (BUSD). This led to a surge in Tether (USDT) dominance, with TRON’s stablecoin market cap seeing a 30% QoQ increase to $43.6 billion. Amid these tectonic shifts, Cardano bucked the trend by reporting a 262% increase in its stablecoin market cap, largely due to the launch of its native stablecoins, IUSD and DJED.
.@Ethereum generated the highest revenue in Q1, driven by its high usage and gas fees. Its revenue was $457M, almost 2.8x the combined revenue of all other featured L1s.@Hedera had the most significant revenue growth, up 489% QoQ, driven by its Consensus Service. pic.twitter.com/ybTQJhIq7I
— Messari (@MessariCrypto) June 16, 2023
Diving into the DeFi landscape, it’s crucial to monitor the DeFi Diversity, representing the distribution of TVL across protocols. This metric essentially provides insights into risk distribution within the ecosystem. Ethereum, followed by Polygon, Solana, and BNB Chain, showcased a healthy diversity. In contrast, TRON’s DeFi scene was predominantly occupied by JustLend.
Shifting focus to NFTs, despite higher gas fees, Ethereum remained the epicenter of NFT activity. Particularly noteworthy is the ascend of Blur, which established itself as the leading Ethereum marketplace in terms of volume.
Lastly, a glance at developer activity is revealing. Ethereum still boasted the highest number of full-time developers, indicating the platform’s sustained appeal to this essential demographic. Although the count of full-time developers across all featured networks decreased by 4% QoQ, Hedera defied the trend, witnessing a 28% growth in its full-time developer count.
Best Crypto Exchange for Everyone:
- Invest in Ethereum (ETH) and 70+ cryptocurrencies and 3,000+ other assets.
- 0% commission on stocks – buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10.
- Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.
- Regulated by financial authorities including FAC and FINRA.
2.8 Million Users
