Binance Q3 report calls crypto market ‘challenging’ amid high interest rates

It’s been a challenging quarter for crypto, Binance has confirmed in its Q3 “Market Pulse” report. The market was down in many sectors, the report found, although the entry of institutional players such as Deutsche Bank, Sony and PayPal helped offset some of the pain. 

The global crypto market capitalization was down 8.6% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), “with the ‘higher for longer’ interest rate rhetoric set to persist.” Fundraising was at its lowest since Q4 2020 and down 21.4% QoQ, with infrastructure doing significantly better than other sectors.

Activity was down slightly on blockchains, with Near being the big exception. It saw an increase of about 120% QoQ. Near also saw a spike in active addresses that started in August. BNB Chain fell sharply, while Ethereum rose slightly and Solana fell slightly.

Related: Q3 2023 crowned most ‘damaging’ quarter for crypto amid $700M losses: Report

Total value locked (TVL) dropped 13.1% across decentralized finance despite an influx of real-world assets, while liquid staking saw a 10.5% increase. Ethereum was the leading blockchain with 55.1% of TVL, despite an 18.6% decline. Tron’s TVL rose by 17.9% QoQ. Tether USDT$1.00 accounted for 67.2% of the stablecoin market’s share. 

pectively, by unique active wallets, showing increased interest in move-to-earn games.