Binance has published its Half-Year Report 2024, from which it emerges that the crypto market is expanding, even in Italy.
The report concerns the first half of the current year, ending on June 30, and was prepared by Binance Research, the division of the company that deals with research. Binance is the main crypto exchange in the world.
The report on Binance’s crypto expansion: the situation in Italy
The data that makes it most evident how much the crypto market has expanded in the first half of 2024 is the increase in overall capitalization by 37.3%.
Although the overall market capitalization did not reach new all-time highs in 2024, given that in November 2021 it surpassed 2.8 trillion dollars while the peak of the current year was over 2.6 trillion, it is still a significant recovery compared to 2023.
During the bear-market of 2022, it had even dropped to 800 million, and 2024 saw it grow from 1.6 trillion dollars to 2.2 trillion on June 30. So the rebound had already started last year, and this year it has strengthened.
The report by Binance, however, also notes that the growth in 2024 occurred mainly in the first quarter, following the excellent performance of 2023, but subsequently came to a halt.
Bitcoin
The report by Binance Research also highlights the fact that the performance of Bitcoin has been superior compared to traditional assets, with interest in it growing significantly, thanks to events such as the fourth Halving and the approval of spot ETFs in the United States.
In particular, it was this last event that brought over 14.7 billion dollars of net inflows to the Bitcoin market, contributing to the positive start of 2024.
Ethereum and Bitcoin have recorded positive returns of 48% and 43% respectively, compared to the same period in 2023, outperforming the main stock indices. For example, gold has increased by only 13%, while crude oil has grown by about 14% since the beginning of the year.
The DeFi
One of the most interesting points of the report is the one that concerns decentralized finance (DeFi).
In fact, the TVL (Total Value Locked) overall in the first half of 2024 recorded a significant increase of 72.8%, which brought it to 94.1 billion dollars.
According to Binance Research, this remarkable influx of capital has had a positive impact on all sectors of DeFi, facilitating the emergence of new protocols that make previously inaccessible financial instruments available on-chain.
The thing is quite important, because the entire altcoin sector relies on decentralized finance, as well as on the marketing of the various projects, so a recovery of DeFi bodes well in view of a possible altseason.
The stablecoin
Another point taken into consideration is the stablecoin.
The overall market capitalization of stablecoins has risen to 161 billion dollars, which is only 14.5% less than the all-time high of April 2022.
Although stablecoins do not have an interesting price trend, since in theory their value should remain stable, their capitalization varies, and when it grows it actually ends up favoring the increase of liquidity in the crypto markets.
The increase of 2024 from this point of view highlights how even the crypto market itself has awakened after the torpor it had fallen into with the bear-market of 2022.
AI
An interesting sector to analyze is that of Artificial Intelligence, and in particular the relationship with the crypto world.
The report by Binance Research points out how the convergence between AI technologies and crypto is increasingly evident, with artificial intelligence benefiting from the permissionless and trustless system of criptovalute.
In this way, decentralized computing systems, AI agents capable of complex tasks, and solutions for identity verification are made possible. Additionally, AI enhances the experience of crypto users and developers, with new features and automations.
Not by chance in the first half of 2024 the tokens linked to AI recorded a total market value of over 26 billion dollars.
Gaming
The last point addressed by the report is the one concerning gaming.
Bina ce Research points out that, despite the decrease in the market capitalization of gaming project tokens in the second quarter, the Web3 gaming sector actually recorded significant growth in terms of users, highlighting its potential for continued expansion and innovation.
In fact, in March the overall market capitalization of crypto gaming tokens reached a peak of about 32 billion dollars, while currently it stands at about 17.8 billion dollars. For now, Web3 gaming still represents only 0.7% of the total capitalization of the digital asset industry.
It is therefore not surprising that in such a context, venture capital investors have shown a significant interest in Web3 gaming. According to Konvoy’s Q1 2024 Gaming Industry Report, venture capital funding increased by 94% compared to the last quarter of 2023, and the growing interest of investors in Web3 gaming projects could be a sign that “Web3 gaming” might even become synonymous with “gaming”.
The market in Italy for the crypto exchange Binance
The CEO of Binance Italy, the Italian branch of Binance operational since September 2022 in Italy, Gianluigi Guida, stated that 2024 is shaping up to be the year of the maturation of crypto-assets.
He said:
“We are going through a crucial period for the future of digital assets, and Binance’s usual semi-annual report highlights several key themes that can lead and shape the next key developments in the sector during the second half of the year. Among these are the growing institutional adoption, the evolution of US macroeconomic conditions, progress in Bitcoin scalability, and the growth of DeFi, along with the rise of ‘ownership economy applications’ – applications related to the user-centric economy, where users directly own and control their data and digital assets, the tokenization of real-world assets, and the increase in Web3 gaming”.
Binance is present in Italy with a team of experts in continuous expansion led by Gianluigi Guida, and collaborates alongside local institutions and associations to promote regulation of the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector that allows for its correct use and development.