News recap: the crypto market has been growing for four months

Crypto market in numbers

The crypto market capitalisation has seen a significant rise, up by 17.1% to reach $1.98 trillion. Notably, on 22nd February, it surpassed the $2 trillion mark for the first time since March 2022.

Trading activity has surged as well. Since 9th February, average daily volumes shot up by 68.1% to $84.79 billion, returning to the early January 2024 range of $75 to $100 billion.

The cryptocurrency fear and greed index has consistently hovered in the “Greed” zone, hitting a local high of 79 points, a level last seen in November 2021. So far, the index has not been able to establish itself in the “Extreme Greed” zone.

Volatility in cryptocurrencies has notably decreased again. The 30-day BTC volatility index dropped by 28% since 9th February – from 1.89% to 1.36%, while the same indicator for ETH decreased by 16.2% – from 1.72% to 1.44%.

Over the past two weeks, cryptocurrencies have seen another uptick. Surprisingly, bitcoin has maintained levels above $50,000, and ether crossed the $3000 mark for the first time since April 2022. However, other top altcoins have yet to catch up with the leaders.

In the past week, the market has shown sideways movement, indicating a momentary pause before another significant move, as suggested by the volatility index.

Gainers (7th – 20th February)

Losers (7th – 20th February)

Easily track gainers and losers within the Simple trade section on EXMO. Check real-time updates in the last 24 hours, week and month.

Most traded coins (7th – 20th February)

Top crypto market driving factors

Overall сrypto market

▲ 09.02.2024 – According to a Finder survey, 80% of crypto project founders have a positive outlook on price prospects, expecting an ATH in 2024.

▲ 12.02.2024 – Glassnode highlights that several on-chain metrics have entered a “risk zone”, potentially signaling the start of a bullish market phase.

▼ 12.02.2024 – A JPMorgan survey indicates a decreasing number of large companies believing in blockchain potential, down to 7% in 2024.

▼ 16.02.2024 – 2023 proved to be the toughest year for crypto projects in the last four-year cycle, with developers abandoning 59.35% of tokens.

▼ 20.02.2024 – eBay lays off 30% of its Web3 division staff following the departure of Stef Jay, Head of Business Development.

▼ 20.02.2024 – Santiment notes that the crypto market has been on the rise for four consecutive months, with increased risks associated with opening new long positions for many altcoins.

Bitcoin (BTC)

▲ 09.02.2024 – Over the past two weeks, more than 25,305 bitcoins ($1.11 billion) have been withdrawn from known cryptocurrency exchange wallets.

▲ 09.02.2024 – CryptoQuant reports that over 70% of bitcoin supply hasn’t moved in over a year, suggesting low selling pressure.

▼ 13.02.2024 – UTXO metric is increasing, typically preceding temporary corrections for bitcoin, according to CryptoQuant.

▼ 13.02.2024 – Santiment indicates that the MVRV metric surpassing the 11.5% mark in the last two years has usually preceded temporary corrections for bitcoin.

▼ 13.02.2024 – Small retail investors continue to sell bitcoin, with 998 coins sold in a day and 8,800 coins during the last 30 days.

▲ 14.02.2024 – The number of Bitcoin addresses with non-zero balances has exceeded 50 million.

▲ 15.02.2024 – Approximately 79% of existing bitcoins haven’t moved for 6 months or longer.

▼ 16.02.2024 – Galaxy Digital warns that bitcoin hashrate could drop by 20% following halving.

▼ 19.02.2024 – Santiment reports active selling by wallets holding 100-1,000 bitcoins since the beginning of the year.

▼ 21.02.2024 – Long-term Bitcoin holders have sold around 200,000 coins since the beginning of the year.

▼ 21.02.2024 – Whales sold over 30,000 bitcoins in the last 48 hours, according to Santiment.

Ethereum (ETH)

▼ 15.02.2024 – Ethereum co-founder, Jeffrey Wilke, starts selling his ether reserves, transferring over $38 million in ETH to a crypto exchange.

▲ 19.02.2024 – Amberdata suggests that the trend of ether outperforming bitcoin may continue due to a more constructive deflationary policy.

▲ 19.02.2024 – Vitalik Buterin notes the potential use of AI to detect errors in the Ethereum network.

▲ 19.02.2024 – An increase in the number of new validators in the Ethereum network is observed, contributing to blockchain security.

▲ 20.02.2024 – A transaction of nearly $400 million is required to change ether’s price by 2% in either direction.

▲ 20.02.2024 – Since the launch of the EIP-1559 update, $11 billion worth of ether has been burned.

TRON (TRX)

▲ 15.02.2024 – Justin Sun announces plans to launch a second-layer network based on Bitcoin for decentralisation and integration of various tokens into the TRON network.

▼ 21.02.2024 – Circle ceases providing support for USDC on the TRON blockchain.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

▲ 19.02.2024 – Since 30th January, the Dogecoin network has been processing over 1 million transactions daily.

Litecoin (LTC)

▲ 09.02.2024 – Santiment notes Litecoin’s strength amid relative weakness in other altcoins.

Stellar (XLM)

▲ 21.02.2024 – Stellar begins the phased implementation of Soroban smart contracts.

Sui (SUI)

▲ 19.02.2024 – Sui surpasses Aptos and Cardano in total value locked (TVL), with an inflow of over $300 million in a month, according to Defilama.

Chiliz (CHZ)

▲ 19.02.2024 – Chiliz announces a multi-year strategic partnership with K-League, South Korea’s top professional football league.

▲ 21.02.2024 – Chiliz launched a sports NFT marketplace called ChilizSwap.

EXMO.com news

EXMO.com partners with Widzew Łódź football club: opening new avenues to interact with the community in unique and meaningful ways.

The terms of the Earn program will change in a week: hurry to secure higher rates for your assets with fewer EXMO Coins on your balance.

New payment provider on EXMO.com: top up your balance and withdraw BRL with Pix.

eCredits (ECS) to be delisted: token deposits and trades were terminated on 12th February, while withdrawals will be available until 12th March 2024.