In March, the cryptocurrency market performed strongly, with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high. Ethereum saw steady price growth, while the Cancun upgrade significantly reduced transaction costs. The Meme craze on the Solana blockchain ignited the market and also had an impact on other public chains like Base.
AI, Meme, and TON have been the main driving forces behind the mass adoption of blockchain technology. Public chains are also actively expanding the Web3 gaming ecosystem, which is seen as a key driver for blockchain adoption.
This report is sourced from Footprint Analytics’ public chain research page, which provides an easy-to-use dashboard with key statistics and real-time updates on the public chain sector.
Cryptocurrency Market Overview:
In March, the cryptocurrency market performed strongly, driven by expectations of interest rate cuts despite overall strong economic performance. This outlook heightened inflation concerns and made assets like Bitcoin and gold more attractive.
The AI industry has become a market focus, with Nvidia’s announcement of the Blackwell GPU and GB200 super chip at the GTC 2024 AI conference igniting enthusiasm not only in the US and global stock markets but also in the cryptocurrency market, driving the rise of the crypto AI sector.
At the end of March, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was sentenced to 25 years of federal imprisonment for fraudulent activities related to the collapse of FTX Exchange and Alameda Research in November 2022. While SBF’s story may have come to an end, the crypto industry still faces severe regulatory challenges. It is worth mentioning that KuCoin is facing legal action from the US Department of Justice and other agencies, leading to a significant outflow of funds.
Public Chain Overview:
With the end of March, the total market value of public chain cryptocurrencies reached $22 trillion, a 15.8% increase compared to February. Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana performed exceptionally well in this growth, with market shares of 63.2%, 19.7%, 4.2%, and 4.1% respectively.
Bitcoin experienced significant fluctuations between “breakthrough” and “volatility.” Starting at $61,213, it quickly surpassed the previous high of $69,000 and reached a new all-time high of $73,068 on March 14. Although it temporarily fell 15.1% to $62,047 in the middle of the month, it recovered by the end of the month and closed at $69,656.
The price movement of Bitcoin is closely related to the performance of the US Bitcoin spot ETF. The mid-month price decline was mainly due to a slowdown in the inflow of funds into the Bitcoin spot ETF and a decrease in leverage by traditional traders. However, market expectations for the Bitcoin halving event in April maintained its upward momentum.
In contrast, Ether’s price increase was relatively stable, starting at $3,344 and closing at $3,648. Although Ether’s increase was slightly lower than Bitcoin’s, it still maintained steady growth, partly due to the unclear prospects of the US spot ETF for Ether. The Cancun upgrade of Ethereum on March 13 aimed to reduce transaction costs and promote activities within its ecosystem.
The token prices of BNB and Solana both saw significant growth, with increases of 48.8% and 56.0% respectively, resulting in an approximately 1% increase in their token market share.
In March, AI-related tokens experienced significant growth. Sam Altman’s re-entry into the OpenAI board after experiencing dismissal and rehiring had a positive impact on AI-related tokens. Additionally, market expectations for the Nvidia GTC conference further fueled speculation and brought positive news for projects participating in the conference. It is worth noting that the token price and market value of NEAR Chain soared by 84%.
The widespread adoption of AI has not only deepened public awareness of AI but also made the concept of “AI + crypto” more widely understood and accepted. AI concept tokens are increasingly attracting attention, further promoting the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Memes have also played an important role in driving the mass adoption of the crypto world. Recently, Solana gained attention due to the surge in Meme-related activities. Tokens like $BOME and $SLERF saw rapid price increases, attracting active participation from community members. This phenomenon fully demonstrates the potential of Meme in creating wealth quickly and has generated widespread FOMO sentiment in the market. As an easily accessible and understandable entry point, Meme helps lower the barriers and attracts more people to explore the Web3 space.
TON (The Open Network) and its closely associated social app Telegram have had a significant impact on driving mass adoption. In March, Telegram announced the expansion of its advertising platform to nearly 100 new countries. This move is an important part of Telegram’s monetization strategy, allowing public channel owners to earn up to 50% of advertising revenue, with all transactions conducted through TON. This greatly promotes on-chain activities for TON. In March, the price and market value of Toncoin doubled to reach an all-time high. With the huge user base of Telegram and seamless integration of dApps, TON simplifies access to Web3. Combined with Telegram’s powerful marketing capabilities, the TON ecosystem is expected to be a key driver for the mass adoption of blockchain.
At the end of March, the total value locked (TVL) in public chains reached $8.13 billion, with Ethereum, Tron, and BNB Chain ranking in the top three.
Solana’s TVL saw significant growth, reaching $3.59 billion, which is twice the value in February. This growth is mainly due to the surge in Meme activities, which greatly increased online activity and attracted a large influx of capital. DeFi dApps on Solana, such as DEX aggregator Jupiter, received high attention and user engagement.
With the booming cryptocurrency market and the help of the Cancun upgrade, Ethereum’s Layer 2 activities and TVL reached new heights. Among them, Arbitrum One and Optimism performed exceptionally well, with TVL increasing by 26.4% and 7.2% respectively, together accounting for about 70% of the market share.
Base’s TVL increased by 87.3%, and active users (wallets) also increased by 29.6%. This is mainly due to the attraction of Meme coins like $DEGEN. Additionally, Coinbase’s launch of the smart wallet further boosted ecosystem activity. This smart wallet simplifies the user registration process through Account Abstraction (AA) technology, integrating with Touch ID or Google accounts, greatly enhancing Base’s user acquisition capabilities.
After the Ethereum Cancun upgrade, the average transaction fees on its Layer 2 network saw a significant decrease. Arbitrum and Starknet saw transaction costs reduced by over 95%. This significant reduction in fees marks the official entry of the Ethereum ecosystem into the “one-penny era.”
Discussions about Layer 3 have been intensifying, with various parties expressing their views. Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, recently questioned the necessity of Layer 3 and explained why Polygon decided not to develop Layer 3. Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also expressed his opinion, stating that Layer 3 networks are not primarily for scalability but rather to provide “customized functionality” for Layer 2 to enhance its performance.
In terms of active gaming players in March, Ronin, Polygon, and BNB Chain were the platforms with the most active players, accounting for 35.4%, 20.9%, and 10.8% of the market share respectively. It is worth noting that Ronin and Polygon further consolidated their leading positions, with their market shares increasing by 6.3% and 7.8% respectively compared to February.
In terms of trading volume rankings, Ethereum, Ronin, and BNB Chain dominated. In March, Ronin’s trading volume reached $81.7 million, a 35.1% increase compared to the previous month, while BNB Chain saw a 13% decline. Ronin’s market share has been expanding strongly despite having fewer than 10 games. With the continuous addition of new games, its growth potential is expected to further increase.
Competition in the public chain sector is becoming increasingly fierce, with major public chains increasing their investments to promote the prosperity of the Web3 gaming ecosystem. The Arbitrum Foundation announced a proposal to distribute 200 million $ARB tokens over the next two years to support gaming projects on its blockchain. Of these, 160 million $ARB will be allocated to game publishers and developers, while the remaining funds will be used to improve infrastructure. This proposal requires approval from the Arbitrum DAO.
Meanwhile, the Starknet Foundation has also taken active measures by establishing a dedicated gaming committee to promote the development of the Starknet gaming ecosystem. The committee plans to distribute 50 million $STRK tokens to support committee-approved gaming projects, especially those that incentivize game development and player participation.
This article is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The market carries risks, and investments should be made with caution.
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