As a professional translator, I would translate the news article as follows:
In February, the cryptocurrency market showed strong upward momentum, mainly due to the significant increase in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum, both of which rose by over 45%. This optimistic trend also affected other tokens, with the top ten tokens experiencing an increase in value of over 25%.
Significant progress was made in the field of blockchain data storage, and various sub-sectors within the blockchain field, such as AI, DePin, Web3 games, and Meme, showed clear rotation trends. In particular, the DeFi sector, led by projects like Uniswap and EigenLayer, led the industry’s innovation.
Furthermore, Layer 2 solutions for Ethereum, including Blast and Starknet, as well as the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem led by Merlin Chain, achieved breakthroughs.
This report’s data comes from Footprint Analytics’ public chain research page. The page provides an easy-to-use dashboard that includes key statistical data and indicators for the public chain field, which is updated in real-time.
Crypto Market Overview
The significant increase in the cryptocurrency market in February was driven by multiple factors. Among them, the US Bitcoin ETF attracted a record $6 billion in inflows, highlighting investors’ strong confidence in cryptocurrency as an effective store of value. Additionally, market expectations for the Ethereum Cancun upgrade in March and the Bitcoin halving event in April further boosted prices. These factors provided strong support for the cryptocurrency market’s upward trend.
However, broader market dynamics such as inflation concerns and Federal Reserve policies may pose challenges to sustained growth. The rise in inflation rates in February suggests that the expected rate cuts in the US may be delayed until later this year or even later, which undoubtedly brings uncertainty to the continuous growth of the cryptocurrency market.
Public Chain Overview
As February came to a close, the total market capitalization of public chain cryptocurrencies soared to $1.9 trillion, a 42% increase compared to January. In this wave of growth, Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana undoubtedly played leading roles, with their market shares reaching 64.0%, 21.4%, 3.3%, and 3.0% respectively.
Bitcoin and Ethereum both showed significant growth. Bitcoin experienced a strong upward trend with a 46.5% increase, reaching a closing price of $62,404 at the end of the month, breaking through the $60,000 mark for the first time since Q4 2021, and coming within 9% of its all-time high. Ethereum performed even better with a slightly higher increase of 48.1%, reaching a closing price of $3,383 at the end of the month.
Driven by the growth of Bitcoin and Ethereum token values by over 45%, other tokens also showed strong performance. The average value increase of the top ten tokens exceeded 25%. In addition, Arweave (AR) showed a particularly significant increase of 205.8%, while Stacks (STX) and Filecoin (FIL) achieved growth of 88.3% and 57.1% respectively.
The field of blockchain data storage made significant progress in the past month. On February 14th, the distributed data storage solution Arweave officially launched Arweave AO and plans to launch a test network by February 27th. Arweave AO will enhance the scalability of the blockchain through modular architecture, thereby promoting higher transaction throughput and parallel processing capabilities.
Furthermore, the distributed storage network Filecoin announced its integration with Solana on February 16th. This collaboration aims to improve the accessibility of historical data on the Solana network using Filecoin’s infrastructure.
In terms of TVL (Total Value Locked), the public chain industry reached $97.7 billion at the end of February. Bitcoin’s TVL soared to $2.05 billion, a 600% increase compared to January. This significant growth was mainly due to the progress of Bitcoin Layer 2 technology and the vibrant development of staking activities, particularly the outstanding performance of the Merlin’s Seal project.
In February, the blockchain industry showed a strong upward trend with rotation in sectors such as AI, DePin, Web3 games, Meme, and DeFi. The DeFi sector finally saw a strong recovery, with projects like Uniswap and EigenLayer performing exceptionally well.
On February 23rd, the Uniswap Foundation proposed a “fee switch” to adjust its fee mechanism to support UNI token holders. This measure, although controversial, received positive market feedback, driving up the value of UNI tokens and boosting the overall performance of the DeFi industry.
In addition, the Ethereum project EigenLayer attracted attention for introducing re-staking functionality and received a $100 million investment from a16z Crypto. This injection of funds helped EigenLayer’s TVL surpass $10 billion, placing it among the top three DeFi projects.
Layer 2
With the prosperity of the cryptocurrency market and the anticipation of a potential Ethereum ETF, the TVL of Ethereum Layer 2 solutions experienced significant growth. Among them, Arbitrum and Optimism continued to lead, with their TVL increasing by 31.1% and 22.1% respectively.
Blast also achieved astonishing growth in TVL, skyrocketing by 106.4% to $2.8 billion. The platform’s Big Bang dApp competition was a huge success, greatly increasing network activity and prompting some dApps to migrate from other blockchains to Blast. Additionally, Blast has confirmed that its mainnet will officially launch on March 1st.
Starknet launched its Provisions Program, the largest token airdrop event in the crypto field to date, greatly boosting the network’s activity and increasing its TVL by nearly 900%.
The Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem should not be overlooked. In February, Merlin Chain’s rapid expansion successfully pushed Bitcoin’s DeFi TVL beyond $2 billion. This significant growth was mainly due to the popularity of Merlin Chain’s fair launch activity, Merlin’s Seal. Meanwhile, Lightning Network, Stacks, and Rootstock also made their mark in the Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions.
Furthermore, a new wave of projects is making significant progress in the Bitcoin Layer 2 field, emphasizing compatibility with EVM smart contracts. This development trend will greatly expand the use cases of Bitcoin, making it more than just a payment function. Projects like Conflux, Bitfinity, and Botanix are leading this transformation, aiming to diversify the applications and functionalities on the Bitcoin network.
Blockchain Games
The game rankings in February showed that Ronin, BNB Chain, and Polygon performed well in terms of user activity, occupying 29.1%, 13.4%, and 13.1% of the market share respectively. In terms of trading volume, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Ronin took the lead, demonstrating strong market performance.
Public chains are seizing growth opportunities through deep collaboration with content creators. Faced with local regulatory challenges, South Korean Web3 game developers are actively looking to the global market for broader development opportunities for their blockchain games. As a leader in this trend, Oasys not only provides a Layer 1 network but also launched a Layer 2 network based on Ethereum to provide diversified technical support for game developers. Recently, Oasys announced strategic partnerships with renowned South Korean game developer Com2uS and Web3 game division Metabora SG under the South Korean internet giant Kakao.
Furthermore, expanding ecosystems through mutual growth between games and blockchain platforms is another way for public chains to achieve growth. Web3 game Pixels migrated from Polygon to Ronin at the end of October 2023, fully leveraging Ronin’s excellent interoperability and marketing support. This transition significantly increased the game’s visibility and on-chain activity. In February alone, Pixels achieved over 1.5 million on-chain interactions and approached the milestone of 1 million users. This growth trend undoubtedly had a positive impact on Ronin, highlighting the mutually beneficial nature of their collaboration.
You can read the blockchain game monthly report from Footprint Analytics to learn more about the game industry dynamics: “February Web3 Game Industry Dynamics: User Growth and Sustained Challenges.”
NFT
In February, Ethereum continued to dominate the NFT market, with a trading volume of $810 million, accounting for 97.1% of the total market trading volume. Although this number decreased compared to January, Ethereum’s market share slightly increased. Meanwhile, Polygon’s performance was not as expected, with its trading volume plummeting from $110 million in January to $20.4 million, resulting in a sharp decrease in market share from 10.4% to 2.4%.
The number of unique Ethereum users (wallets) decreased from 163,000 in January to 150,000 in February. However, its market share increased from 42.7% to 46.9%. Polygon also saw a decline in the number of users, dropping to 129,000, resulting in a decrease in market share to 40.4%. Meanwhile, BNB Chain’s market share grew modestly by 9.7%, with its user count reaching 31,000.
You can read the NFT monthly report from Footprint Analytics to learn more about the NFT industry dynamics: “February 2024 NFT Industry Dynamics: Cryptocurrency Soars, NFT Market Adjusts.”
Public Chain Financing and Investment
In February, the public chain industry experienced a total of 11 funding events, raising a total of $150 million. Compared to January, both the number and scale of investments showed significant growth.
In the Layer 1 field, Flare received a $35 million investment in a private funding round led by Kenetic and Aves Lair. Flare positions itself as a network centered on data, focusing on driving the development of smart contract protocols and pricing oracles.
In the Ethereum Layer 2 field, Karak stood out, raising a staggering $48 million in Series A funding, making it the largest funding event of the month. Karak has launched a cutting-edge risk management framework for blockchain, Web3, and the global financial ecosystem. Additionally, Ethereum Layer 2 solutions like AltLayer and LightLink also successfully secured funding.
This momentum extends to the Bitcoin Layer 2 platform, as QED Protocol, Citrea, and Merlin Chain all received new investments in February. This indicates the growing market interest in Bitcoin scaling solutions.
Key Developments this Month
– Sei Labs plans to launch Sei V2 upgrade in the first half of 2024.
– Web3 infrastructure service provider Particle Network announced that its first Launchpad platform will introduce the token MERL from the Bitcoin Layer 2 network Merlin Chain.
– The Bitcoin Cats project successfully launched the 1CAT Chain test network, a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution.
– Layer 1 blockchain project Nibiru Chain plans to launch its mainnet in March 2024.
– Decentralized finance protocol Frax Finance successfully launched its Layer 2 solution Fraxtal, built on OP Bedrock and compatible with EVM.
– Stablecoin issuer Circle decided to stop supporting its stablecoin on the TRON blockchain.
– Klaytn and Finschia, two major blockchain projects, announced their merger through the “Project Dragon” plan in the second quarter of 2023, aiming to create the largest Web3 network in Asia.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market carries risks, and investments should be made with caution.
Footprint Analytics is a blockchain data solution provider. With cutting-edge AI technology, we provide the first no-code data analytics platform and unified data APIs for the Crypto field, allowing users to quickly retrieve NFT, Game, and wallet address fund flow tracking data for over 30 public chain ecosystems.
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Tags: DeFi, Ethereum, cryptocurrency, blockchain, Bitcoin
Note: All articles from Bitpush.news represent the author’s point of view and do not constitute investment advice.
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