Monthly Market
Insights
November 2023
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways 2
Crypto Market Performance 3
Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”) 5
Non-Fungible Token (“NFT”) 6
Charts of the Month 7
Bitcoin Dominance Hits a 2.5-Year High 7
Scroll zkEVM Layer-2 Takes Off 8
Uniswap Unfazed by Interface Fees 9
Maker Revenue Sets an All-Time High 10
Upcoming Events and Token Unlocks 11
References 12
New Binance Research Reports 13
About Binance Research 14
Resources 16
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 1
Key Takeaways
◆ T
he crypto market, driven by optimism surrounding spot Bitcoin ETFs, witnessed
an impressive 19% surge in total market capitalization in October, marking the
second-largest monthly gain of 2023. Notable gainers included SOL, LINK, and
BTC, concluding the month with price increases of 78%, 45%, and 28%,
respectively.
◆ B
itcoin dominance hit a 2.5-year high of 53.47% in October, as optimism behind
spot exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) approvals and short liquidations propelled
a rally in Bitcoin prices. In October alone, Bitcoin prices were up 28%.
◆ A
fter two years of development, Scroll's eagerly awaited mainnet has launched,
marking its place among the expanding roster of zkEVMs this year. While already
attracting over US$26.6M in total value locked (“TVL”) and 43K users, Scroll is
still in its infancy, with significant room to approach the billion-dollar
benchmarks set by some of its Layer-2 (“L2”) counterparts.
◆ U
niswap Lab’s newly introduced interface fee has resulted in over US$647K
collected in the two weeks since launch. The market share of Uniswap has
remained relatively stable, and it is still the largest decentralized exchange by
trading volume.
◆ M
aker, the protocol behind the DAI stablecoin, has seen its annualized revenue
surge and breach its all-time highs near US$200M. A significant driver of
increased revenue has been Maker’s willingness to onboard real-world assets
(“RWAs”) as collateral for DAI. Specifically, annualized revenues from RWAs are
up 455% from October 2022 and are now responsible for the majority (66%) of
Maker’s total annualized revenue.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 2
Crypto Market Performance
he crypto market witnessed an impressive 19% surge in total market capitalization in
T
October, marking the second-largest monthly gain of 2023. The bullish momentum was
largely propelled by the anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval, as well as short
liquidations driven by price spikes. A testament to the optimistic sentiment around Bitcoin
was its rapid ascent following Cointelegraph’s erroneous report on October 16. Subsequent
pivotal events, including the U.S. court’s reaffirmation of the Grayscale case’s previous
ruling and the preliminary listing of Blackrock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBTC, on the Depository
Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”), further bolstered this optimism. These events
collectively drove Bitcoin past the $35,000 level, revitalizing the broader crypto market.
Figure 1: Monthly crypto market capitalization increased by 19% in October
Monthly Change in Crypto Market Cap (%)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2023 30.4 3.4 9.3 3.2 -6.0 3.3 1.0 -8.8 2.6 19.0
2022 -22.6 -0.3 25.3 -18.1 -25.2 -31.7 21.8 -11.4 -2.1 7.2 -18.0 -4.5
2021 33.9 39.6 31.1 11.4 -25.7 -5.9 12.5 25.2 -9.9 42.9 -1.0 -15.0
2020 35.4 -5.5 -27.7 38.8 10.0 -4.5 25.9 13.7 -7.6 14.6 37.5 39.7
2019 -11.6 12.3 11.1 17.1 55.5 30.8 -22.5 -6.5 -13.7 14.8 -14.7 -7.9
2018 -10.2 -9.0 -42.9 67.9 -26.2 -23.4 18.1 -22.9 -1.7 -8.4 -32.1 -5.5
ource: CoinMarketCap
S
As of October 31, 2023
Figure 2: Monthly price performance of the top 10 coins by market capitalization
ource: CoinMarketCap
S
As of October 31, 2023
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 3
In descending order of performance:
◆ E
very coin within the top 10 concluded October in positive territory. Notably,
SOL and LINK stood out from the pack, boasting monthly gains of 78% and
45%, respectively. Solana, given its robust performance, has erased the losses
stemming from the FTX bankruptcy and has retraced in price back to November
2022’s levels. This resurgence in confidence is underscored by the significant
growth of its two primary staking protocols, Marinade Finance and Jito, with
Marinade gaining 130% and Jito gaining 200% in monthly TVL. Meanwhile,
LINK’s surge seems intrinsically linked to Korean exchanges Bithump and Upbit,
which collectively amassed945KLINK amidst the coin’sprice surge. These
factors, combined with the recent announcement of Staking 2.0, contributed to
LINK’s leading performance. Moreover, Bitcoin, fueled by the spot ETF narrative,
marked a commendable 28% gain for the month.
◆ A
DA shook off its September stagnation, posting a 21% uptick. Doge’s traction
this month can potentially be traced back to PEPE, another prominent meme
coin. The recentmaneuversby the PEPE team have redirectedsome market
attention towards meme coin trading. Furthermore, XRP experienced a notable
rally, marking its largest single-day surge in three months, spurred by the news
of the SEC withdrawing charges against Ripple’s leaders.
◆ W
hile TRX, ETH, and BNB didn’t match the performance of some of their peers,
they concluded October with respectable gains of 9.0%, 8.7%, 6.5%,
respectively. Ethereum’s subdued performance relative to Bitcoin was
anticipated, given the prevailing market spotlight on the spot Bitcoin ETF. TON,
contrasting its September rally, rounded off the month with a mere 0.09%
increase.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 4
Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”)
Figure 3: TVL share of top blockchains
ource: DeFiLlama
S
As of October 31, 2023
verall, DeFi TVL recorded a notable increase of 8.8% MoM, breaking its downtrend
O
momentum as participants took more risk driven by the euphoria in the crypto market over
the impending approval of spot BTC ETFs. Increasing risk appetite among participants
drove several notable growths in DeFi protocols such as JustLend, AAVE, and Compound
Finance, which recorded MoM changes of 23.06%, 14.25%, and 12.22%, respectively.
Tron, Arbitrum, and Solana were some of the top gainers in TVL, recording growth of
15.04%, 3.70%, and 17.26%, respectively. The EIP-7540 proposal was also introduced in
October and is still in its early stages of discussion. EIP-7540 aims to be an extension to
the current ERC-4626 tokenized vault standard, and its approval would ensure the
possibility of asynchronous deposits and redemption flows, which could potentially benefit
DeFi protocols on Ethereum.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 5
Non-Fungible Token (“NFT”)
Figure 4: Monthly NFT trading volume
ource: CryptoSlam
S
As of October 31, 2023
he NFT market staged a rebound alongside the overall crypto market with sales volume
T
reaching US$0.31B in October, recording an increase of 6.9% MoM. This provides some
solace to NFT holders as the NFT market has been hit hard by the bear market.Nansen’s
NFT-500 indexrevealed a 58% decline on a year-to-date(“YTD”) ETH basis, and the
Blue-Chip-10 indexdipped 50% YTD, dragged down bythe relatively poor performance of
profile picture NFTs, which have the highest market capitalization by category. Overall, the
tough year for NFTs has continued, with categories tracked by Nansen being down between
50% and 65% YTD. However, as reflected in October data, we are starting to see a silver
lining in the market as NFTs notched gains across most categories on a MoM basis except
for art, which remained weak.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 6
Charts of the Month
Bitcoin Dominance Hits a 2.5-Year High
Figure 5: Bitcoin dominance has been on an uptrend
ource: Coinmarketcap
S
As of October 31, 2023
itcoin dominance, which measures the market capitalization of Bitcoin as a share of the
B
total crypto market, rose to a high of 53.47% during the month, a level not seen since April
2021. Bitcoin prices have been on a general upward trend throughout October, crossing the
US$35K mark at one point. Just in October alone, Bitcoin prices have surged more than
28%, recording one of the best months for the asset we have observed in a while. Rising
prices have contributed to an increase in Bitcoin dominance to a 2.5-year high.
ptimism behind spot ETF approvals has driven Bitcoin prices higher, and the rally was also
O
fueled by investors covering their short positions. For example, based ondata from
CoinGlass, Bitcoin saw more than US$275 million inshort liquidations in a single day on
October 23, 2023.
un fact: the rise in Bitcoin dominance has coincided with the 15th anniversary of the
F
Bitcoin whitepaper, which was published on October 31, 2008.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 7
Scroll zkEVM Layer-2 Takes Off
igure 6: Following its mainnet launch,ScrollhasaccumulatedoverUS$26.6MinTVL
F
and attracted more than 43K users
ource: L2Beat, Flipside (tkvresearch), Binance Research
S
As of October 31, 2023
fter more than two years of rigorous development, the Ethereum L2 network Scroll
A
unveiled its mainnet on October 17th, joining the growing list of zkEVMs introduced this
year. As a type-2 zkEVM rollup, Scroll seamlessly integrates with Ethereum at the bytecode
level, simplifying deployment for existing infrastructures and dApps.
eyond its technical prowess, Scroll has garnered notable traction. It raised US$83M,
B
holds a valuation of US$1.8B, and has seen its TVL grow to over US$26.6M since its launch,
with a daily user influx averaging 2,848. A significant portion of this capital has flowed into
KyberSwap, the protocol with the highest TVL on Scroll, thanks to its strategic introduction
of six high-yielding farms to attract liquidity. Impressively, Scroll's testnet phase recorded
an average of 305K transactions daily. With more than 450K smart contract deployments
and upwards of 90M total transactions, the testnet played a crucial role in paving the way
for the mainnet's debut.
croll's strategic approach has also distinctly stood out from its competitors. Rather than
S
vying for the first-mover advantage, the team prioritized building a sustainable product,
drawing upon their deep contributions in Ethereum Layer-1 (“L1”) and zkSNARK research.
Ultimately, Scroll is still in its infancy and yet to approach the billion-dollar benchmarks set
by some of its L2 counterparts, suggesting considerable growth potential ahead.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 8
Uniswap Unfazed by Interface Fees
igure 7: Uniswap’s market sharehasnotchangedsignificantlysincetheintroduction
F
of interface fees
ource: The Block
S
As of October 31, 2023
arlier in October, Uniswap Labs introduced a 0.15% fee for swaps involving selected
E
tokens that are executed through Uniswap front-ends such as its website and its wallet.
This does not impact users that execute their transactions through aggregators or other
user interfaces. Nonetheless, UNI holders have raised concerns given that this is separate
from the long-discussed protocol-level fee switch and does not entitle them to a share of
the revenue. The UNI token fell by more than 6% in the 24 hours following the
announcement but has since recovered its loss.
ver US$647K has been collected in terms of protocol fees as of the end of October,
O
translating to an annualized revenue of US$15.7M for Uniswap Labs.
ven with the introduction of interface fees, Uniswap remains the largest decentralized
E
exchange (“DEX”) by trading volume, having facilitated over US$25.8B in trading volume in
October. As observed in Figure 5, while daily market share has fluctuated, it has remained
relatively range-bound between 40% and 60%, with no noticeable dip following the
introduction of interface fees. This is understandable given that the interface fees do not
impact non-front-end users, and its vast liquidity means that aggregators will continue to
route trades through Uniswap.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 9
Maker Revenue Sets an All-Time High
Figure 8: Maker’s annualized revenues are touching US$200M, driven by RWA collateral
ource: Dune Analytics (@steakhouse)
S
As of October 31, 2023
aker, the protocol behind the DAI stablecoin, has seen its annualized revenue surge and is
M
currently breaching all-time highs near US$200M. Maker generates revenue through fees
paid by users for borrowing DAI, fees earned when positions are liquidated, and any yields
they can get on the collateral that borrowers put up.
significant driver of increased revenue has been Maker’s willingness to onboard RWAs as
A
collateral for DAI. In fact, annualized revenues from RWAs are up 455% from October 2022
and are now responsible for the majority (66%) of Maker’s total annualized revenue. RWA
assets, primarily consisting of U.S. Treasury bills, have benefited from rapidly rising interest
rates over the past year and have thus helped generate a higher overall (and a higher
proportion) of Maker’s total revenue.
sers can also deposit DAI into Maker’s Spark Protocol in order to earn the DAI Savings
U
Rate (“DSR”). DSR pays out the yield from the fees that Maker generates. The rate had
been as low as 1% earlier in the year, before an August vote saw MakerDAO approve an
increase of the DSR to 8%. This led to a significant inflow of DAI into the protocol, with the
total balance of deposited DAI increasing from ~US$343M in August to over US$1.7B at the
end of October, an increase of over 400%. Users had to mint and borrow DAI in order to
benefit from the increased DSR, which further led to increased fees for the protocol,
thereby increasing their total revenue. The DSR has since dropped to 5%, naturally falling
as the number of DAI deposits increased.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 10
pcoming Events and Token
U
Unlocks
I n this section, we have summarized notable events and upcoming token unlocks for the
month. We hope this will help monitor key developments in the space and keep track of
unlock events.
Figure 9: Notable events in November 2023
Source: Binance Research
Figure 10: Largest token unlocks in US$ terms
Source: TokenUnlocks, Binance Research
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 11
References
https://defillama.com/
https://coinmarketcap.com/
https://www.cryptoslam.io/
https://token.unlocks.app/
https://dune.com/
https://www.theblock.pro/
https://l2beat.com/
https://pro.nansen.ai/
https://flipsidecrypto.xyz/
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 12
New Binance Research Reports
Traversing Decentralized Storage Q3 State of Crypto: Market Pulse
look at the decentralized storage
A compilation of the key charts and
A
market landscape insights on the market
emystifying the Intent-Centric
D onthly Market Insights: October
M
Tesis 2023
nderstanding the Intent-Centric
U summary of the most important
A
Thesis market developments, interesting
charts, and upcoming events
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 13
About Binance Research
inance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency
B
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 research topics, including but not limited to the
crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.
Jie Xuan Chua
Macro Researcher
ie Xuan (“JX”) is currently working for Binance as a
J
Macro Researcher. Prior to joining Binance, he worked
as a Global Investment Specialist with J.P. Morgan and
had prior Equity Research experience at various fund
houses. JX is a CFA charterholder. He has been
involved in the cryptocurrency space since 2017.
Moulik Nagesh
Macro Researcher
oulik is a Macro Researcher at Binance, having been
M
involved in the cryptocurrency space since 2017. Prior
to joining Binance, he had experience spanning
cross-functional roles in Web3 and Silicon
Valley-based tech companies. With a background in
co-founding start-ups and a BSc in Economics from
the London School of Economics & Political Science
(“LSE”), Moulik brings a comprehensive perspective to
the industry.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 14
Shivam Sharma
Macro Researcher
hivam is currently working for Binance as Macro
S
Researcher. Prior to joining Binance, he worked as an
Investment Banking Associate / Analyst at Bank of
America on the Debt Capital Markets desk,
specializing in European Financial Institutions. Shivam
holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of
Economics & Political Science (“LSE”) and has been
involved in the cryptocurrency space since 2017.
Brian Chen
Macro Research Intern
rian is currently working for Binance as a Macro
B
Research intern. Prior to joining Binance, he worked as
a DeFi researcher at a financial service startup and a
Web3 education organization. He holds a Master of
Finance degree from the University of California,
Irvine (“UCI”), and has been involved in the
cryptocurrency space since 2021.
Jin Ming Neo
Macro Research Intern
in Ming is currently an intern with Binance on the
J
Macro Research team. Prior to joining Binance, he had
experience working in several family offices as an
investment analyst intern. He was also part of the
Coinbase Community Analyst Program, working
closely with the crypto intelligence team. Jin Ming is
currently an undergraduate at Singapore Management
University, studying Business with a major in Finance.
Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 15
Resources
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eneral Disclosure:This material is prepared by Binance Research and is not intended to be relied upon as a
G
forecast or investment advice and is not a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or
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Monthly Market Insights - November 2023 16
