Bitcoin has achieved its third consecutive month of gains, leading to a renewed interest in alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) that began in October. As a result, the total market value of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) has reached its highest level since August 2022.
The potential for a widespread altcoin season remains uncertain, but various industry sectors that were previously inactive during the bear market are showing early signs of revival. The Cointelegraph Research Monthly Trends report for December 2023 provides a comprehensive analysis of these emerging trends.
This month’s report covers a range of topics, including Bitcoin market trends, developments in decentralized finance (DeFi), movements in crypto stocks, venture capital (VC) activities, derivatives, updates in the mining sector, and progress in the tokenization of real-world assets.
You can download a free PDF of the report from the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.
Infrastructure and Web3 sectors are leading the way in crypto VC funding, with a significant influx of investment in November. A total of $973 million was invested through 93 separate deals, the highest activity observed since June 2023, representing an almost 40% increase from the previous month.
This is in contrast to October, where only three deals exceeded $20 million. In November, however, there were five investments that surpassed the $50 million threshold. This surge in capital inflow may be driven by a combination of positive news sentiment, the recent uptrend in the cryptocurrency market, and a temporary pause in interest rate hikes by the United States Federal Reserve.
The infrastructure and Web3 sectors recorded the highest number of funding rounds, with 37 and 30 rounds respectively. Centralized finance (CeFi) secured the second-highest investment volume this month, with $216.4 million distributed across five deals.
This unexpected surge can be largely attributed to two significant funding events: Blockchain.com raised $110 million in a Series E funding round, and OSL, a centralized exchange operated by BC Technology Group in Hong Kong, completed a $90 million round. Following closely, the Web3 and DeFi sectors raised $160.5 million and $78.4 million respectively.
On the other hand, the nonfungible token (NFT) sector had a relatively modest three funding rounds, accumulating $11.5 million.
There has been a surge in popularity for Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as venture capital activities and minor altcoin rallies indicate a shift of capital towards higher-risk assets. This trend is expected to intensify if a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is approved in the United States. Leading ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Baluchnas have increased their likelihood estimates for approval by Jan. 10 to 90%.
This optimism is reflected in the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin-based exchange-traded products. Evidence of this can be seen in the Bitcoin futures market on the CME, where open interest increased by over 20% in November.
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You can download a free PDF of the report from the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.
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