Binance Research: Key Crypto Market Trends in August

Key points

This article reviews Binance Research’s recent report that discusses the cryptocurrency market over the past month major developments. The cryptocurrency market grew 6.1% in market capitalization in July, driven by positive developments such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of nine spot ETH ETFs and Germany’s sale of 50,000 BTC. However, concerns remain about Mt. Gox’s repayment and the U.S. government’s BTC diversion.

After the launch of the Spot Ethereum ETF, trading volume was strong in the first week (approximately $5.8 billion), but net outflows (approximately $484 million), mainly due to Grayscale's ETHE outflows. Net inflows into ETFs, excluding ETHE, were $1.5 billion.

July saw significant growth in the number of decentralized exchanges (DEX). This trend is driven by improved user experience, increased liquidity, and the popularity of meme coin trading. The forecasting platform Polymarket also saw record trading volumes and the number of active traders, influenced by developments in the election cycle.

This article explores key Web3 developments in July 2024 to provide an overview of the current state of the ecosystem. We analyze the performance of the cryptocurrency, DeFi and NFT markets, then preview the major events to watch in August 2024.

Crypto market performance in July 2024

Driven by several positive developments, crypto The total market value of the market increased by 6.1% in July. The German government has reportedly completed a transfer of 50,000 BTC to centralized exchanges, easing market concerns. Additionally, the SEC approved S-1 filings for nine spot Ethereum ETFs, which began trading on July 23. Donald Trump announced at Bitcoin Conference 2024 that if elected, he would establish a strategic BTC reserve with the aim of making the United States the crypto capital of the world.

These developments are in addition to concerns that Mt. That sparked concerns about a potential sell-off.

In July, Solana (SOL) stood out, with a price increase of 30.5%. This growth was driven by a 42.2% month-on-month increase in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume to $54.6 billion, driven primarily by memecoin trading. Solana’s average daily active addresses reached a record 1.7 million, and daily transaction volume increased 18.2% to 1.3 million. Several developments in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market have bolstered positive sentiment in the ecosystem, including the introduction of Jito re-staking and the announcement of the Drift prediction market. Solana's ecosystem continues to expand, attracting significant attention from individuals and institutions.

XRP has also outperformed other major cryptocurrencies, rising 27.6% in July. The rally began after CME and CF Benchmarks announced the launch of an XRP index and reference rate. Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the ongoing legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be resolved, further boosting market confidence. TRON (TRX) maintains positive momentum, rising 9.8% in July and entering the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization. TRON founder Justin Sun announced plans to develop a gas-free stablecoin, adding to the coin’s positive outlook. After a poor performance in June, BTC rebounded in July, rising 9.7%, as selling pressure from the German government eased and Donald Trump's appearance at Bitcoin Conference 2024 sparked positive sentiment. The Trump campaign raised $21 million during the conference, receiving a lot of support from BTC and cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

However, not all cryptocurrencies experienced a positive month. AVAX edged down 1.2% despite significant progress, including the launch of the Interchain Token Transfer (ICTT) system and updates to its validator launch time and block building process. Likewise, Ethereum (ETH) fell 1.6% after the SEC approved nine spot ETH ETFs, with an initial net outflow of $484 million. Additionally, TON has faced a 12.2% retracement despite strong performance since March as its ecosystem continues to grow with the success of the Telegram game Hamster Kombat and other initiatives.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

In July, the total TVL of DeFi increased by 3.5 %, consistent with the overall market upward trend. Big gains this month include CORE, Scroll and Mantle, with gains of 121.2%, 66.0% and 30.9% respectively. Across the protocol, Polymarket has seen significant growth, with trading volumes surging to over $387 million in July, more than 614% higher than January’s volumes.

Symbiotic's total value locked (TVL) surged 283% in July after the pool cap was removed, driven by market interest in re-staking and Cooperation with well-known protocols such as Mellow Protocol, Lido, Ether.fi, Ethena and Pendle. By the end of July, all pool caps were fully filled, with $1.21 billion accumulated in less than two months. Mellow Protocol also saw a 69.6% increase in TVL, driven by its role as a modular liquidity re-staking primitive, allowing users to double farm points to earn future token airdrops from Mellow and Symbiotic.

Non-fungible token (NFT)

In July, NFT market sales fell by 7.14%. to $430 million. DMarket led the way with $16.2 million in sales, followed by DogeZuki on Solana with $13.9 million in sales. Solana collectibles like the Solana Monkey Business and Retardio Cousins have seen significant increases in sales, while major Ethereum collectibles and top-tier Ordinals collectibles have seen significant declines.

Overall, Bitcoin and Ethereum NFT sales are down significantly, but Immutable sales are due to ongoing game development, including the launch of Illuvium An increase of 75.68%.