In their comprehensive report titled “Full-Year 2023 & Themes for 2024,” Binance provided an in-depth analysis of the cryptocurrency market’s performance in 2023 and its potential trajectory in 2024.
Bitcoin Narratives at the Forefront
Binance notes that Bitcoin remained a central focus throughout 2023, driven by various factors such as the Ordinals/BRC-20s, the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, and the upcoming 2024 halving. The introduction of Ordinals and BRC-20s marked a significant innovation in Bitcoin’s evolution, allowing the deployment and transfer of fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network for the first time. These tokens quickly became popular among speculators.
The approval of spot ETFs is seen as introducing substantial liquidity into the market and recognizing Bitcoin as a legitimate asset. Binance anticipates these dynamics to continue into 2024, with the SEC’s final decisions likely being positive.
The halving event is expected to trigger significant market volatility, potentially leading to dramatic price fluctuations, especially in Ordinals and BRC-20s due to their smaller market caps and memecoin-like characteristics. Binance also expects further developments in Bitcoin scaling solutions, such as Stacks’ sBTC, to enhance Bitcoin functionality.
Ownership Economy Applications Gain Traction
Binance observes that blockchain technology is empowering users to reclaim control over resources traditionally dominated by large entities, including personal data, creative content, and computation resources. Decentralized physical network infrastructure (DePin) and decentralized social media (DeSoc) are two areas that gained significant traction in 2023.
Friend.tech, a decentralized social media platform, exemplified the potential of this sector by enabling users to monetize their creations without centralized platform limitations. Binance predicts that in 2024, similar applications exploring various forms of social media will emerge. DePin protocols, seen as having high growth potential, are expected to rapidly scale through bottom-up growth strategies.
Artificial Intelligence Integration Increases
Following the traction gained by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2023, Binance notes that AI x Crypto has become a major narrative, with numerous projects emerging. The integration of AI in the crypto ecosystem is expected to open up a range of possibilities, including trade automation, predictive analytics, generative art, data analytics, and DAO operations. Binance anticipates further innovation in this area, particularly in democratizing AI model training through decentralized storage for data management.
Real-World Assets Grow
The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is highlighted as a strong use case for blockchain technology. Binance expects RWAs to benefit from elevated interest rates in 2024, with tokenized treasuries remaining a bright spot for crypto investors. The accelerated institutional adoption of RWAs and developments in related infrastructures such as decentralized identity, oracles, and interoperability solutions are also anticipated to gain momentum.
On-Chain Liquidity Landscape Thrives
Liquidity is fundamental to the on-chain ecosystem, especially for DeFi. Binance expects an increase in the scale of on-chain liquidity and financial activities in 2024. Noteworthy categories include liquidity management and Request for Quote (RFQ) systems.
The popularization of Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker (CLMM) by Uniswap V3 addressed capital inefficiencies, but challenges like Impermanent Loss (IL) and Just-In-Time (JIT) liquidity remain. This has led to the emergence of liquidity protocols optimizing positions for CLMM liquidity providers.
Binance highlights the disparity between Uniswap V3’s TVL of US$2.4B and the combined value managed by these protocols at only US$400M, indicating significant growth potential. RFQ systems, exemplified by projects like Uniswap X, CoW Swap, and 1nch Fusion, facilitate efficient matching between traders and market makers, offering competitive pricing and other advantages. Binance anticipates increased adoption of this model with ongoing advancements in on-chain trading infrastructure.
Institutional Adoption Accelerates
The entry of traditional asset management giants like BlackRock and Fidelity into crypto during the past bear market is seen by Binance as a testament to their belief in the industry’s long-term potential. With the Bitcoin halving and positive headlines surrounding spot Bitcoin ETF applications, Binance expects increased coverage of the crypto space in 2024, motivating more institutions to explore and participate in crypto growth.
Security Remains Paramount
Security is crucial in building user trust within the crypto industry. Binance notes that over US$1B was lost to DeFi exploits in 2023, a significant improvement from 2022. However, Binance anticipates continued emphasis on security in 2024, manifesting in product innovations, educational initiatives, and enhancements in user experiences.
Account Abstraction Gains Importance
To onboard the next billion users and accelerate blockchain adoption, accessibility and inclusivity are key. Binance points out that most trades still occur on centralized exchanges (CEX), with decentralized exchanges peaking at only 20% of total CEX trading volumes in May 2023.
Innovations like account abstraction, which facilitate the creation of smart contract wallets with enhanced usability, are expected to see rapid developments, reducing the friction of using Web3 wallets. Binance believes these advancements could significantly improve the overall user experience and contribute to the broader adoption of blockchain technology.
