2024 Q3 Crypto Industry Report

Q3 saw crypto close the quarter flat at a $2.3 trillion market capitalization, but the period still saw significant volatility. Geopolitical and economic events had major impacts on the crypto market. The US Federal Reserve's decision to hold rates steady in July and cut them by 50 basis points in September altered the trajectory of markets this quarter. In Japan, the Bank of Japan's unexpected rate hike in July caused unexpected disruption, while China’s new stimulus measures suggest more structural liquidity may be forthcoming.

Our comprehensive 2024 Q3 Crypto Industry Report covers everything from the crypto market landscape to analyzing Bitcoin and Ethereum, deep diving into the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystems, and reviewing how centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) have performed.

We’ve summarized the key highlights, but be sure to dig into the full 51 slides below.

Top 7 Highlights of CoinGecko’s 2024 Q3 Crypto Industry Report

1. Total Crypto Market Cap Fell -1.0% in 2024 Q3, Ending the Quarter at $2.33T

2. Bitcoin Increased Its Dominance, Now Accounting for 53.6% of the Total Crypto Market Cap

3. Major Asset Classes Outperformed Bitcoin, Led by Gold Which Appreciated 13.8%

4. Prediction Markets Grew 565.4% in 2024 Q3, Led by Polymarket With 99% of Market Share

5. Transactions on Ethereum Layer 2s Increased 17.2% in 2024 Q3, Led by Base

6. Spot Trading Volume on Centralized Exchanges Fell to $3.05T in 2024 Q3, Down -14.8% QoQ

7. Ethereum Was the Dominant Chain for DEX Trading, but Is Quickly Losing Market Share to Solana & Base

1. Total Crypto Market Cap Fell -1.0% in 2024 Q3, Ending the Quarter at $2.33T

Total crypto market cap dropped -1.0% ($95.8 billion) to end 2024 Q3 at $2.33 trillion. The market rose as high as $2.61 trillion on July 22, but dipped sharply on August 6 due to weakness in the global economy. The Federal Reserve held interest rates flat, while the Bank of Japan raised interest rates. 

The global crypto market cap then oscillated between $2.00 trillion and $2.20 trillion, before recovering slightly to its current level of $2.33 trillion, fueled by an aggressive 50bps rate cut in the US, and stimulus announcements in China.

Meanwhile, average trading volume in 2024 Q3 stood at $88.0 billion, also a slight decline of -3.6% from the previous quarter. 

2. Bitcoin Increased Its Dominance Over the Market, Now Accounting for 53.6% of the Total Crypto Market

While the global crypto market cap declined slightly in 2024 Q3, Bitcoin (BTC) managed to increase its dominance to 53.6%, a 2.7% increase Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ). It only recorded a modest 0.8% gain, but Altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH) and BNB receded more this quarter, thus seeing their dominance fall. The last time BTC was able to achieve such dominance was in April 2021. 

Meanwhile, Ethereum had the largest decline in dominance among the top 7 cryptos, dropping -3.6% in Q3, ending the quarter with 13.4% market share. This was despite the launch of Ethereum ETFs in July, and the drawdown could be attributed to reduced interest in the Ethereum ecosystem. 

3. Major Asset Classes Outperformed Bitcoin, Led by Gold Which Appreciated 13.8%

With Bitcoin’s (BTC) minor price bump of 0.8% in 2024 Q3, it was easily outperformed by most other major asset classes. Gold was the top gainer, ending the quarter up 13.8%. This came amidst fears of economic slowdown in the US, and the escalating situation in the Middle East. 

The Japanese Yen also had a stellar quarter, rising 12.0% after the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) surprise rate hike in August and subsequent rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Crude oil and the US Dollar Index (DXY) were the only major asset classes to be outperformed by BTC due to concerns of weaker demand and rate cuts, respectively. All major fiat currencies posted gains against the dollar.

4. Prediction Markets Grew 565.4% in 2024 Q3, Led by Polymarket With 99% of Market Share

Prediction markets picked up steam in 2024 Q3, growing 565.4% due to pundits betting on the upcoming US elections. This has driven volume on the top 3 prediction markets to $3.1 billion in Q3, up from $466.3 million in Q2. 

However, the majority of volume was on Polymarket, which accounted for 99% of market share in September. Its betting volume grew by 713.2%, and transactions grew by 848.5% in the same period. Some $1.7 billion of bets have been placed on the “US Presidential Election Winner” since the start of 2024, accounting for ~46% of Polymarket’s yearly volume.

5. Transactions on Ethereum Layer 2s Increased 17.2% in 2024 Q3, Led by Base

Total transactions across the Top 10 Ethereum Layer 2s (L2) were on a steady climb in 2024 Q3, with daily transactions nearly breaching the 10 million mark by the end of September. In comparison, Ethereum mainnet processes ~1 million daily transactions.

Base has seen a large surge in network activity since the start of the year, and is by far the most active L2, accounting for 42.5% of all transactions in Q3. This was followed by Arbitrum, with 18.9% of transactions, and trailed by Blast with 8.1% during the same period. Manta Pacific saw a spike in transactions in August, with the majority of transactions attributed to a fully on-chain Telegram mini-app called Taman. However, once the initial launch campaign ended, activity on the network tailed off.

6. Spot Trading Volume on Centralized Exchanges Fell to $3.05T in 2024 Q3, Down -14.8% QoQ

In 2024 Q3, the top 10 centralized exchanges (CEX’s) recorded $3.05 trillion in spot trading volume. This represents a drop of -14.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

Binance remained the largest CEX, ending September 2024 with a market share of 38%. However, this is the first time since January 2022 that Binance recorded a market share below 40%. Meanwhile, Crypto.com came from behind to end the quarter as the second largest CEX in September, leapfrogging from ninth in Q2. It was also the fastest-growing CEX in the top 10, increasing 160.8% QoQ. It held a market share of 14.4% in September.  

OKX and Gate.io both lost trading volume in Q3, faltering by more than 30%. Coinbase also saw trading volumes fall by -23.8%, dropping it from sixth to tenth in Q3. 

7. Ethereum Was the Dominant Chain for DEX Trading but Is Quickly Losing Market Share to Solana & Base

In 2024 Q3, Ethereum was the dominant chain for DEX trading, though its market share is now consistently below 40%. Trading volume on Ethereum trended downward between July and September 2024, with its cumulative volume -19.6% lower QoQ at $130.5 billion.

DEX trading activity continued to flourish on Solana, buoyed by the multitude of meme coins. It ended September with a 22% market share and $21.5 billion in volume. Meanwhile, Base continued to grow its market share in Q3, despite being a slow quarter for the crypto market. Trading volume on Base grew 31.4%, allowing it to overtake Arbitrum in September, with a 13% dominance and $12.3 billion in volume.

Tron was a newcomer to the top 10, after displacing Blast which saw its volumes plummet post-TGE. With the release of memecoin generator SunPump on Tron, trading volumes spiked. The network managed to capture 2% of market share with $1.7 billion in volume in September.

Read the Report: CoinGecko’s 2024 Q3 Crypto Industry Report

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