Q2 State of Crypto:

Market Pulse

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Contents

01 Key Takeaways
02 Market Overview
03 Layer 1s
04 DeFi
05 NFTs
06 Gaming
07 About Binance Research
Key Takeaways
Market Pulse is a compilation of key charts and insights by
Binance Research, shedding light on the state of crypto.

Market Layer 1s DeFi NFTs Gaming

Overview
Q2 was a modest Blockchain activity Q2 marked a NFT sales fell 23% The gaming
quarter for crypto. bounced back in Q2. period of decline QoQ in Q2, which landscape was led
Total crypto market From a price for DeFi as Total was in tandem by BNB Chain,
capitalization rose perspective, Bitcoin Value Locked with the declining Ethereum, and
by 0.4% QoQ had a great quarter, (“TVL”) fell 11.2% price performance Polygon, with more
despite an uncertain while Avalanche QoQ, ending the (-19%), as than 67% market
macroeconomic and outperformed in quarter at measured by the share (by number
regulatory daily transactions US$44.2B. NFT-500 index. of games).
environment. and unique
addresses.

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Market Overview
Crypto Market Overview
Market capitalization increased marginally in Q2
Global Crypto Market Capitalization

+0.4% QoQ
● Crypto market capitalization
(“market cap”) increased by
0.4% in Q2 2023.

● Despite regulatory uncertainties,

the crypto market remained
relatively resilient, with a flurry
of ‘spot Bitcoin ETF’ applications
from traditional institutions such
as Blackrock. As a result, Bitcoin
shattered the $30,000 ceiling in
June, reaching its highest level
Source: Coinmarketcap, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
for the year.
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Crypto Fear & Greed Index
The Index fell slightly but remains above 50
Fear and Greed Index

Greed ↑ -7 points in Q2
● The Crypto Fear & Greed Index,
which measures market
Neutral
sentiment, reached a high of 69
points on April 17 and ended the
quarter at 56 points, indicating
Fear ↓ positive sentiment.

● This is a stark contrast to Q1,

when the index was hovering
around the “neutral” zone,
dipping into “fear” for a period of
Source: Coinglass, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023. time.
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Crypto Unicorn Index
Number of coins with a market cap >US$1B fell in Q2
Number of Coins With Market Capitalization Above US$1B

-25.9 % QoQ
● The number of coins with a
market cap >US$1B decreased
from 54 in Q1 to 40 in Q2.

● This came as the SEC cracked

down on certain altcoins,
labeling them as ‘unregistered
securities’. As a result, investors
have shunned many of these
tokens, causing an overall plunge
in their market capitalization.
Source: Blockchaincenter.net, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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Performance of Largest Coins by Market Cap
The top 3 coins held their spot in 2021, 2022 and YTD
Price Performance of the Top 10 Coins (2017 to YTD)

+34% average
performance in Q2
● BTC, ETH, and BNB remain the
top 3 coins by market
capitalization in 2023, excluding
stablecoins.

● Year-to-date, BTC, ETH, LTC, and

SOL have exhibited the strongest
recoveries, as LTC climbed the
ranks and gained interest with its
upcoming halving on August 2.
Source: CoinMarketCap, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
Note: Table excludes stablecoins
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Market Share of Coins
BTC dominance increased
Market Share of Coins

+5.4% share for BTC

● BTC was the biggest gainer in Q2
as traditional institutions applied
for spot Bitcoin ETFs.

● Most other large-cap coins

generally maintained market
share during the quarter, while
those in the ‘Others’ category
suffered a decline of 4.4%.

Source: Coinmarketcap, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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Layer 1s
Monthly Transactions by Chain
Up across the board: AVAX was the top gainer in Q2
Number of Transactions (Monthly)

QoQ Change:
ETH (-4%); BNB (+5%);
AVAX (+176%); SOL (-1%)
● Activity tracked higher across the
sample set, with an average ~44%
increase across all 4 L1s in Q2.

● This was fuelled by the surge in

transaction activity on Avalanche,
while Ethereum saw the largest
percentage decline in transaction
Source: Etherscan, Bscscan, Snowtrace, Artemis, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
count for the quarter.
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Average Daily Active Addresses by Chain
Avalanche: the outlier
Average Daily Active Addresses

BNB Chain and Avalanche

showed increases in Q2

● Average daily active addresses

on Avalanche rose 109% and
50% on BNB Chain, while falling
18% for Ethereum and 69% on
Solana.

● BNB Chain active addresses

have increased for three
consecutive quarters, while
Ethereum and Solana have
Source: Etherscan, Bscscan, Snowtrace, Artemis, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
declined in the last nine months.
12
Twitter Followers
Followers continue to increase across the board
Cumulative Twitter Followers by Official Blockchain Accounts

@ethereum leads, with

@BNBChain a close 2nd
● @BNBChain (+3% QoQ) and
@avax (+6% QoQ) saw the
strongest Q2 growth.

● @ethereum continued to lead

with over 3M followers, with
@BNBChain very close behind.

● On a monthly basis, @ethereum

has lagged in its follower count,
while the other three L1s in our
cohort have steadily increased,
as @avax has gained momentum
Source: SocialBlade. Data as of 30 June 2023.
with its follower count.
13
BTC: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (“GBTC”) Premium
The GBTC discount improved over Q2
Grayscale BTC Premium Rate (%)

Discount to NAV:
❖ End of Q1-23: -36.7%
❖ End of Q2-23: -30.2%

● The GBTC discount has narrowed

to its lowest since July 2022
after hovering at over 40% for
the year.

● This came as Blackrock filed for

a spot Bitcoin ETF, raising
optimism that the SEC may
approve and potentially convert
GBTC’s trust structure into an
ETF.
Source: YCharts, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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BTC: Bitcoin Balance on Exchanges vs. Price
Price increased while balance decreased in Q2
BTC Balances on Exchanges vs. BTC Price

Continued growth in the

second quarter for the
largest crypto
● Bitcoin’s price rose ~7% in Q1,
breaking past $30,000.

● Bitcoin’s balance on exchanges

fell by 4.2% across the quarter,
compared to the increase of
0.5% observed in Q1. Against
the rising demand for
self-custody and the emergence
of new wallet infrastructures,
this number may potentially fall
Source: Glassnode, Coinmarketcap, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023. further in the future.
15
ETH: Ethereum Transaction Fees
Average Ethereum fees rose through Q2
Ethereum Transactions Fees

Average fees (US$):

❖ Q1-23: 4.8
❖ Q2-23: 8.8

● Average transaction fees on

Ethereum have risen by 82%
across Q2 2023, peaking at
$27.60 on May 5, 2023.

● This spike was largely driven by

the emergence of memecoins
such as PEPE, driving a frenzy of
on-chain transactions to
capitalize on this short-lived
momentum.

Source: Etherscan, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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ETH: Staked ETH Statistics
~20% of all ETH in circulation has been staked
Amount of Staked ETH

~25.9M ETH is staked

● Q2 saw a 43.7% increase in the
amount of ETH staked, with a
notable increase of ~3.8M ETH in
May, likely contributed by the
successful Shapella upgrade on
April 12. This enabled staked
ETH withdrawals, encouraging
investors to deposit and
generate yield.

Source: Dune Analytics, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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BNB Chain: Average Transaction Fee
Users paid an average of $0.21 for transaction fees in Q2
BNB Chain Transaction Fees

-43.2% QoQ average fees

in Q2
● Average transaction fees fell
from a Q1 average of $0.25.
Despite the rise in activity for
BNB Chain in Q2, the decrease
can be attributed to the recent
community proposal, which
sought to reduce transaction
costs from 5 Gwei to 3 Gwei. The
network has also unveiled its
layer-2 rollup, opBNB, which is
Source: BSCscan, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
currently in the testnet phase.
18
BNB Chain: Top dApps by TVL
DEXes and lending remain the largest verticals
Top 10 dApps on BNB Chain (by TVL)

PancakeSwap remained the

dominant dApp
● PancakeSwap continues to lead
despite the entrance of Uniswap
onto BNB Chain (Uniswap has
~US$14.7M in TVL).

● Notable developments include

PancakeSwap V3, which introduced
‘concentrated liquidity’ in April to
enhance the capital efficiency of its
liquidity pools; Venus Protocol has
also looked into investing US$20M
in RWAs by collateralizing VAI via a
proposal from Credix, generating
Source: DefiLlama, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023. yield for its users.
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DeFi
DeFi TVL
DeFi TVL fell in Q2
Defi TVL

-11.2% QoQ
● DeFi TVL fell to US$44.2B in
June 2023, down from the peak
of US$50B observed in February.

● Nonetheless, DeFi TVL has

largely remained above the
previous low in December 2022.

Source: Defi Llama, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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Market Share by TVL
Tron showed signs of growth
Defi TVL Market Share by Chain

Tron in the spotlight

● Top spots continued to be
held by Ethereum, Tron, and
BNB Chain, with changes in
TVL market share during the
quarter.

● Notably, Tron notched the

most gains (+1.9%), followed
by Arbitrum (+0.3%).

Source: Defi Llama, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

22
Top DeFi dApps by TVL
Lido extended its lead over other DeFi dApps
Top 10 DeFi dApps

Lido consolidates its lead

● Lido saw the largest absolute
gain, with TVL increasing from
US$11.0B to US$14.9 QoQ. This
is likely due to the increased
demand for liquid staking after
the Shapella upgrade.

● Rival LSD protocol RocketPool

has also inched into the
rankings, edging out
PancakeSwap.
Source: Defi Llama, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

23
DEX/CEX Trading Volume
The DEX/CEX ratio was slightly higher at the end of Q2
DEX to CEX Ratio (%)

+4.0% (absolute) in Q2

● The DEX/CEX ratio has risen

sharply, reaching a peak of
22.0% in May 2023, likely driven
by the memecoin frenzy with
significant trading happening
on-chain.

● This has normalized but still

remains high, closing at 16.8%
at the end of June, against
declining CEX volumes as users
Source: The Block, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023. opt for self-custody solutions.
Note: DEX - Decentralized Exchanges | CEX - Centralized Exchanges
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Stablecoin Market Share
USDT gained market share following recent market events
Stablecoin Market Share (By Market Cap)

+1.2% market share for

USDT
● USDT has extended its lead as
the largest stablecoin in the
market and currently has over
60% of the stablecoin market
share.

● USDT has also seen capital

inflow and absorbed market
share from both USDC and BUSD
as the SEC expands its
crackdowns, driving users away
Source: DeFi Llama, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
from the stablecoins.
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Total Funds Lost Due to Hacks
The amount lost due to hacks declined in Q2
Total Value Hacked in DeFi*

Losses resulting from

DeFi hacks totaled
US$144M in Q2
● The Atomic Wallet incident
(US$100M) accounted for
the bulk of the funds
exploited in the quarter as
the private keys were
compromised.
Unfortunately, the majority
of the funds have yet to be
recovered.
Source: DefiLlama, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
*Values do not include recovered funds. Actual loss due to hacks may be lower.
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NFTs
Total NFT Sales
Sales fell in Q2 but stabilized through the quarter
NFT Sales by Month

Q2 sales -23.0% QoQ

● NFT sales plunged in Q2 2023
as notable collectors such as
‘MachiBigBrother’ and
‘Franklinisbored’ sold their
BAYCs, causing floor prices to
fall. Azukis had also suffered
from the Elementals debacle,
where the collection looked
similar to the originals. This
caused a crash in the floor
prices, leading to a cascading
Source: CryptoSlam, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023. effect across the space.
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Number of Unique Buyers
Traders reeling from the NFT market
Number of Unique Buyers

Q2 total number of unique

buyers -61% QoQ
● The quarterly unique buyers
metric has fallen compared to
the initial spike in Q1 arising
from the $BLUR airdrop.

● This came as NFT activities have

remained relatively muted
across marketplaces.

Source: CryptoSlam, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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NFT Sales Volume by Blockchain
Ethereum & Solana lost market share as BNB & other L1s
gained
NFT Sales by Chain

Ethereum market share

fell 17% in Q2
● Ethereum remained the
strongest blockchain in terms of
NFT sales. However, it lost NFT
market share to other L1s,
alongside Solana (-3.2%), in Q2.

● ImmutableX and Flow remained

flat QoQ, while NFT sales on BNB
Chain rose by 2.4%. Sales in
other L1s also increased by
Source: CryptoSlam, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
17.9%.
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Total NFT Transactions
Transaction activity rose significantly in Q2
NFT Number of Transactions by Month

Q2 Transactions
increased +27% QoQ
● Transaction activity continued to
climb in Q2 of 2023, reaching a
peak of 9.9M transactions in
April 2023.

● This was largely contributed by

the increased volatility resulting
from huge sales by notable
collectors.

Source: CryptoSlam, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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NFT-500 Price Index
A relatively lackluster Q2 for NFT performance
NFT-500 Price Index

-19% QoQ drop in the

NFT-500 index in Q2
● In tandem with the general NFT
market decline, the NFT-500
price index extended a
double-digit fall as the prices of
blue-chip collections tumbled.

● Following a brief bounce at the

start of the year, the NFT-500
price index has been on a
general decline.
Source: Nansen, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
Note: The Nansen NFT-500 is a broad market index tracking the market activity of NFTs issued on the Ethereum blockchain. Index points can
be represented as what US$1000 invested on January 1 would now be worth. This broadly reflects the combined market cap (in ETH). 32
Price Performance by Sector
Metaverse NFTs fell sharply in Q2
NFT Index QoQ Performance (Q2 2023)

As other NFT sectors fell,

Metaverse NFTs tumbled
● The prices across the different
sectors fell, with Art NFTs having
the lowest decline. Despite an
initial relief observed in Q1,
Metaverse NFTs tumbled over
the quarter as interest gradually
waned.

Source: Nansen, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

Note: Blue Chip-10 consists of ten notable and classic NFTs organized by their market capitalization. Social-100 tracks the top 100 Social NFT
collections by market capitalization. The Gaming-50 index tracks 50 Gaming NFT collections ranked by market capitalization. Art-20 tracks the top 20
art collections by market capitalization. Metaverse-20 index tracks the top 20 Metaverse NFT collections by market capitalization.
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NFT Marketplaces Market Share
The Blur NFT marketplace continues to gain market share
By Volume By Users (Last 30 Days)

Blur dominates in terms

of volume
● The majority of NFT trading
volume happened on Blur, with
its incentive scheme through
$BLUR tokens. The marketplace
had also launched its NFT
lending product, Blend, which
has gained significant volume.

● OpenSea remained the platform

with the most active user base
following the launch of its
Source: Dune Analytics, DappRadar, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
OpenSea Pro aggregator.
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Gaming
Games by Chain
BNB Chain leads with the most number of games
Web3 Games by Chain

The gaming landscape

was led by the top three
players
● BNB Chain, Ethereum, and
Polygon accounted for over 67%
of all games.

Source: Footprint Analytics, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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Games by Status
Gaming is still in its early days
Web3 Games by Status

With only ~28% of games

live, most games are still
under development
● Compared to the previous
quarter, there has been a slight
increase in games in their alpha
stage (+1%), presale stage
(+0.6%), and beta stage
(+0.5%).

Source: PlaytoEarn.net, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

37
Games by Device
Most blockchain games are on Web and Windows
Web3 Games by Device

As of now, web-based
games are leading
● Web games (Web + Windows)
are leading by a significant
margin, overtaking mobile games
(Android + iOS). Since web
games can be supported on all
platforms, this enables a wider
outreach for teams to encourage
user adoption.

● Console games are clearly

Source: PlaytoEarn.net, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.
lagging behind.
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Games by Genre
Entertainment across the board
Web3 Games by Genre

Action-oriented games
are leading
● Action, Strategy, and Adventure
are the categories with the
greatest number of games,
possibly indicating that
developers see these verticals as
having the most potential.

● Educational and Escape games

lag behind.

Source: PlaytoEarn.net, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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Top 5 Games by Active Users in the Past 30 Days
Iskra had the most active users
Games by Active Users (Last 30 Days)

Iskra led in terms of

active users
● Iskra is a blockchain gaming hub
that brings together gamers and
game studios. The Iskra platform
allows gamers to explore and
enjoy blockchain games and
create their own community.

● Alien Worlds is an NFT

Metaverse that is available on
WAX, Ethereum, and BNB Chain.
Source: Dappradar.com, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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Top 5 Gaming Tokens by Market Cap
The Otherside maintains its leadership position
Gaming Tokens by Market Cap (Last 30 Days)

Metaverse tokens stand

out
● Out of the top five games by
market cap, three are
Metaverse-related projects.

● As compared to Q1, The

Sandbox has overtaken the
Otherside, to clinch the top spot,
while WEMIX PLAY gained
market capitalization, up from
US$316.4M previously.
Source: DeGame, Binance Research. Data as of 30 June 2023.

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About Binance Research
Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is
committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in
the crypto space. Our analysts publish insightful thought pieces regularly on topics related but not limited to, the
crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.

https://research.binance.com @BinanceResearch @BinanceResearch

Contributors

Colin Chan Keng Ying Sim Nicholas Tan Yi Da

Colin is currently an intern with Binance Keng Ying (“Sky”) is currently a Research Nicholas is currently a Research Data
on the Macro Research team. Prior to Data Analyst at Binance. Before joining Analyst intern on Binance’s Research
joining Binance, he interned as a Trader Binance, she worked as a Research Data Team. He is a recent Engineering
Analyst at Bybit and Citi, the latter with a Systems and Design graduate of the
with Genesis Global Trading. Additionally,
focus on offshore wealth management Singapore University of Technology and
Colin has had experience as a data analytics. Design.
analyst, spending time with Paypal’s
Enterprise Architecture Team. Sky is an on-chain data enthusiast who He is passionate about data analytics,
enjoys going down the rabbit hole in her particularly in areas like DeFi and RWAs.
Colin is a Senior at the National free time.
University of Singapore, where he is
studying Business and Computing
(Information Systems).

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recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies or to adopt any investment strategy. The use of terminology and
the views expressed are intended to promote understanding and the responsible development of the sector and should not be interpreted as
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of such jurisdiction. Investment involves risks.

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