Crypto Market Consolidation and Key Trends in Q2 2023

According to the CoinGecko report, the entire cryptocurrency market saw a slight increase of 0.14%, with the total market cap rising from $1.238 trillion on March 31, 2023, to $1.240 trillion on June 30, 2023. This period was characterized by a consolidation of gains, following the exuberance of Q1

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the two leading cryptocurrencies, experienced growth during this quarter. Bitcoin prices rose by 6.9%, increasing from $28,517 to $30,481, outperforming the total crypto market cap. This growth was despite a 58.7% decline in average daily trading volume from $33.4 billion in Q1 to $13.8 billion in Q2. Ethereum also saw an increase of 6.0% in Q2, with prices hovering around $1,900.

The report also highlighted a 3.5% shrinkage in the stablecoin market, with USD Coin (USDC) and Binance USD (BUSD) being the biggest losers. In contrast, Tether (USDT) strengthened its foothold, adding 4.4% ($3.48 billion) to its market cap and ending Q2 with a 66% market share of the stablecoin market.

A significant trend in the Ethereum ecosystem was the growth of ETH staking by 30.3% in Q2 2023, reaching 23.6 million ETH staked. This represented a gain of 5.6 million and was facilitated by the enabling of withdrawals.

Despite the growing popularity of Bitcoin Ordinals, the non-fungible token (NFT) trading volume saw a 35.0% drop, from $4.84 billion in Q1 to $3.15 billion in Q2. Ethereum remained the dominant platform for NFT trading in Q2, capturing 83.0% of the volume.

Trading volumes on both centralized and decentralized exchanges fell by 43.2% and 28.1% respectively. Binance, the leading centralized exchange, saw its market share drop to 52%. In the decentralized exchange market, Uniswap maintained its dominance.

The report provides valuable insights into the crypto market landscape, including deep dives into the decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT ecosystems, and reviews of exchange performance. These insights are crucial for understanding the trends and dynamics shaping the cryptocurrency market as it continues to evolve

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InfStones aims to simplify ETH staking through Shappella upgrade

InfStones, a blockchain infrastructure provider, has announced a new Ethereum validator service that aims to simplify ETH staking through the upcoming Shappella upgrade. The service will utilize Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to make staking easier for both users and institutional investors, with the goal of attracting more participants to the Ethereum ecosystem.

The Shappella upgrade, which is expected to bring heightened market demand for ETH staking, will allow participants with less than 32 ETH to stake their tokens on InfStones’ platform. This is a significant development, as currently, there is a requirement of 32 ETH to participate in staking.

InfStones founder Zhenwu Shi stated that their Ethereum validator service enables anyone to launch validator nodes for staking purposes with just a few clicks. In addition, the platform is targeting institutional investors by providing a way to set up around 1,000 validators for ETH staking.

The project’s goal is to attract more participants to the Ethereum ecosystem by creating an easier staking experience. InfStones’ platform aims to capitalize on the Shappella upgrade by offering a more streamlined staking service. Liquid staking platforms may also get a boost when ETH is released from the Beacon Chain following the upgrade, according to analysts from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.

However, Ethereum staking deposits have seen a slight decline recently, which has been attributed to both regulatory pressure in the United States and the upcoming Shappella upgrade. Despite this, community members have expressed various sentiments on the news, with many praising the developers for achieving the next milestone for the Ethereum ecosystem.

As the Ethereum ecosystem continues to grow, InfStones’ new validator service aims to make staking more accessible for both individual users and institutional investors. By providing an easier staking experience, the platform hopes to attract more participants and contribute to the growth of the Ethereum network.

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Ethereum Breaks 200,000 Validators Milestone, Over $14 Billion Now Staked In ETH 2.0

Ethereum network continues to record increasing support as launch draws nearer with each passing day. The network has now successfully crossed 200,000 validators meaning there are now over 200,000 validator nodes running ahead of the ETH 2.0 launch and counting. The amount of staked ETH now stands at over 6.6 million coins staked, totally over $14 billion worth of ETH currently staked in the network.

Over 20,000 validators were added to the network in the span of a month, taking the validators number from 180,000 to over 200,000. With this has come an increasing number of ETH staked on the network. More and more investors continue to stake their coins in anticipation of the upgrade to ETH 2.0, which will come bearing rewards for the validators.

Related Reading | Ethereum EIP-3675 For ETH 2.0 Upgrade Launches On GitHub

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At this point, the amount of staked ETH now totals over 5% of the entire circulating supply of ETH. With a current annual APY of 6.1% on staked ETH on the Ethereum network.

Move To Proof Of Stake

The move of the Ethereum network from proof of work to proof of stake has been a hot topic in the crypto space since the project was announced. Although the project continues to require more time to complete than was initially speculated by Ethereum CEO Vitalik Buterin. The move has had numerous delays, most of which are attributed to personnel working on the upgrade and not technical problems, according to the CEO.

Ethereum price chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum price chart from TradingView.com


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ETH price tests $2,300 resistance point | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Ethereum still currently operates on a proof of work mechanism, but the move to proof of stake would see the network requiring less electricity to mine coins and making the hassle of mining much less than it currently is. The reduced electricity consumption will address the environmental pollution problem of mining, which has long been a bone of contention in the mining industry.

Recently, the EIP-3675 was formalized as an improvement proposal, which sets the stage for “The Merge.” This comes just before the scheduled London Hard Fork that is meant to take place about a week from now on August 4th. The hard fork will see gas fees being burned as the current system is switched out for a new and better one.

Ethereum Price Reactions

The price of Ethereum continues to see increasing improvement as ETH 2.0 breaks the 200,000 validator milestone. Over the weekend, the price of Ethereum grew over 10% as the market witnessed a tremendous run. Giving ETH a much-needed momentum push to break the $2,000 price level and continue an upwards movement.

Related Reading | Ethereum Price Could Go Up Over 860% To Break $10,000, Crypto Analyst

More validators are expected to hop onto the Ethereum network. And as the amount of ETH mined in each block is reduced due to the fee burn structure of the ETH 2.0 upgrade, the amount of forecasted circulating ETH will be less. Hence the new deflationary nature of the network will introduce scarcity, thereby increasing the value of the coins mined.

Ethereum is now comfortably trading above $2,000 and continues to see upward momentum as the price continues to test the $2,300 resistance point.

Featured image from Blockchain News, chart from TradingView.com

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 43,339.61 1.11%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,331.98 0.82%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 76.70 0.88%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 248.39 2.44%