According to Crypto.com’s latest market size report, the global cryptocurrency market saw a significant increase in ownership in the first half of the year.
The number of owners rose 6.4% to 617 million in June, compared to 580 million at the end of 2023. The growth was mainly driven by major developments in the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, particularly the launch of exchange-traded funds that are linked to the two digital assets.
Bitcoin (BTC) remains the dominant cryptocurrency, with holdings growing 5.9% to 314 million at mid-year, accounting for 51% of all crypto holders.
Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) saw a sharper increase in adoption, with a 9.7% increase, bringing the total number of ETH owners to 136 million, representing 22% of the global market.
Growth engines
According to the report, two major events caused the increase in BTC adoption. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US and the fourth halving of the flagship crypto in April both played a crucial role.
The halving event reduced block rewards for miners from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, strengthening Bitcoin’s appeal as “digital gold” and generating significant institutional interest. The report estimates that between 388,000 and 1.6 million individuals have invested in BTC through US spot ETFs, further driving its adoption.
Ethereum’s growth was primarily driven by the Dencun upgrade in March, which significantly reduced transaction fees on Ethereum’s Layer-2 (L2) networks. This upgrade improved Ethereum’s scalability, leading to an increase in L2 activity that now represents approximately 90% of all transactions on the Ethereum network, compared to 77% before the upgrade.
Additionally, liquidity withdrawal initiatives in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem pushed the total value (TVL) in DeFi to $100 billion in the first quarter, almost double the previous quarter.
Institutional adoption
The report highlights strong growth in March and April, with monthly increases of 1.7% and 1.6% respectively, coinciding with Bitcoin’s halving and Dencun’s upgrade. During this period, institutional investors played a crucial role in Bitcoin’s continued growth, with US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracting over $14 billion in inflows at the end of June.
Ethereum also benefited from increased institutional interest, especially in the lead-up to the SEC’s halt in investigation of ETH and the regulator’s approval of spot ETH ETFs – both of which have boosted investor confidence in Ethereum and the market as a whole . The initial surge in interest pushed ETH prices to $3,900 in June.
The spot ETFs have achieved remarkable performance since their respective launches, with Bitcoin-linked funds breaking several records in the ETF market.
However, despite significant growth in the first half, the market has struggled to break above record highs in recent weeks due to increased selling pressure due to macroeconomic pressures and the deteriorating geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $59,121, while ETH was trading at $2,612 – both significantly lower than the peak price reached this year.
Bitcoin Market Data
At the time of printing 19:59 UTC on August 19, 2024Bitcoin is number 1 in terms of market capitalization and so is its price down 0.81% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $1.17 trillion with a 24-hour trading volume of $25.35 billion. Learn more about Bitcoin ›
Summary of the crypto market
At the time of printing 19:59 UTC on August 19, 2024the total crypto market is valued at € $2.09 trillion with a 24 hour volume of $59.13 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance currently stands at 55.86%. Learn more about the crypto market ›