The digital asset market experienced an 11% upswing in the previous month, with Solana (SOL) and Chainlink (LINK) emerging as the top-performing assets amid a surge in decentralized finance (DeFi) volumes, according to a recent report.
Binance’s Monthly Market Insight report indicates a positive overall trend, as the majority of cryptocurrencies saw an increase in value, propelling the total market capitalization beyond $1.5 trillion.
The report notes that November commenced with bullish momentum, witnessing a 12% rise in the first half of the month, followed by a minor correction characterized as an oscillation between bullish and bearish sentiments.
Over the months of October and November, the market demonstrated a notable 19% and 11% gain, respectively, marking a robust conclusion to the year and recovering losses incurred in preceding months due to broader macroeconomic factors. Only January’s 30% surge surpasses the growth metrics of the last two months.
The report emphasizes that all of the top 10 coins concluded November with positive gains, with SOL and LINK leading the pack with a 29.11% increase. Solana’s resurgence, highlighted by the crypto event Solana Breakpoint that attracted over 13,000 attendees across four venues, underscored the growing interest within the community.
Bitcoin fees outpace Ethereum
In an unusual shift from the established pattern observed over several years, Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed Ethereum (ETH) in terms of transaction fees last month. This deviation was primarily driven by the heightened network activity on Ethereum, stemming from the platform’s greater concentration of decentralized applications.
This atypical trend persisted for almost two-thirds of the month, reaching its widest point in a span of two years. The disparity was propelled by the surging demand for Bitcoin Ordinals, the widely recognized non-fungible tokens associated with the market leader. This increased demand significantly contributed to network activity, causing congestion in the mempool earlier in the year.
Recent data from CryptoSlam reveals that Ordinal transactions reached their peak in November, amounting to approximately $367 million. This substantial figure outpaced the transaction activities on the Ethereum network during the same period.
DeFi volumes soar
The ongoing bull run has triggered a surge in DeFi volumes, accompanied by a rapid influx of institutional funds into digital asset products. The total value locked (TVL) across DeFi platforms has experienced an impressive 11% increase in the last 30 days, with Solana (SOL) leading the way with a remarkable 56% surge.
Solana has notably earned the status of being an institutional investor favorite this year, consistently attracting record inflows even during periods of low altcoin figures. Ethereum, the leading altcoin, has also witnessed an uptick in institutional inflows in recent weeks, coinciding with its asset price breaking through the $2,000 mark.
Optimism and Avalanche have joined the upward trend, recording gains in DeFi TVL of 17% and 16%, respectively. Notably, the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) market has experienced a turnaround, reversing previous months’ declining volumes. In the last month, NFT volumes reached $0.91 billion, reflecting a staggering 200% growth.