A Glimpse into Bybitβs Institutional Report
Bybit’s Institutional Report 2024 showcased a notable upsurge in monthly trading volumes among centralized exchanges (CEXs) from October 2023 to March 2024.
Bullish Insights and BTC Hedge π
- OKX observed a remarkable 278% increase in trading volumes since October 2023.
- Binance closely followed with a 239% surge in trading volumes.
- Bybit Exchange demonstrated an impressive 264% growth in trading volumes.
- Coinbase witnessed a 193% rise, just below the industry’s average growth rate of 255%.
The surge in CEX volumes is mainly attributed to Bitcoin (BTC) price hikes, coinciding with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF approvals.
The report highlighted bullish trends in the derivatives market, especially for BTC and Ethereum (ETH), despite sideways movements in March and April.
- Investors displayed optimism through large call premiums for BTC and ETH futures contracts.
- This trend indicates bullish sentiments for the long-term price prospects of these cryptocurrencies in the upcoming year.
The report also emphasized BTC’s role as a hedge in traditional finance portfolios.
- BTC and ETH show correlations with traditional financial assets below 3%.
- Allocating 5% each to BTC and ETH can enhance the risk-adjusted returns of the S&P 500, improving the Sharpe ratio by 43.6%.
Investors benefit more when allocating higher percentages of their portfolios to cryptocurrencies.
Challenger Chains and VC Funding Surge π°
- Challenger chains, including Solana (SOL), have outperformed ETH since Q4 2023.
- SOL maintained its momentum as a top performer in Total Value Locked (TVL) and transaction volume among challenger chains.
Venture capital funding in the crypto industry witnessed a resurgence.
- Infrastructure projects remain a primary focus for VC investments.
- VC investments expanded to sectors like gaming and AI projects.
- Q4 2023 saw a 21% increase in venture capital deals, with disclosed funding totaling $1.42 billion.
- Q1 2024 experienced 243 deals with disclosed funding amounting to $1.94 billion, representing a 36% surge from Q4 2023.