Bybit Institutional Report 2024: Institutions Become Bullish and Eye Challenger Chains, while VC Funding Resurges for Infrastructure, Gaming, and AI

DUBAI, UAE, April 18, 2024 /CNW/ — Bybit, one of the world’s top three crypto exchanges by volume, partnered with Treehouse, the industry-leading research institute that offers professional insights into digital assets, and co-launched its 2024 Institutional Industry Report. It provides an extensive analysis of the current state of crypto adoption worldwide, examining how it compares to traditional finance (TradFi).

During the period from October 2023 to March 2024, the crypto sector experienced a significant surge in value, with its market cap increasing from slightly above $1 trillion to over $2.5 trillion by the end of March. This upward trajectory reflects growing investor confidence and a substantial influx of capital into the crypto ecosystem.

Delving deeper into the findings, the report reveals bullish trends in the derivatives market, along with indications of increasingly aggressive on-chain activities for BTC and ETH. It also explores institutions’ investment behaviors through on-chain metrics and highlights growing interest in AI and BTC ecosystem projects.

Additionally, the report investigates the potential long-term impacts of ETFs and offers insights into what can be expected from the upcoming bitcoin halving event, as well as key themes highlighted for a 2024 bull run which is beginning to show early signs of upticking.

Institutional Focus Areas: Key Highlights

1. Derivatives market becoming increasingly bullish

Examining the long-term call-put skews over the 30 days in March 2024 reveals a notably bullish sentiment despite the relatively sideways movement in the market during March, with both BTC and ETH generally exhibiting a large call premium.

This trend suggests that investors maintain a generally bullish outlook on the long-term price potential of these two crypto majors toward the end of the year.

2. Bitcoin as the perfect TradFi hedge

Both BTC and ETH‘s correlations with traditional indices, equity, or fixed income, remain below 3% in all instances. Of particular note, BTC specifically demonstrates negative correlations of returns with major equity indices, indicating its potential role as a diversification hedge for equity-focused portfolios.

With a modest 5% allocation into BTC and ETH (equally weighted), the S&P 500’s Sharpe ratio can be increased from 2.20 to 3.15, representing a 43.6% increase. This effect becomes more pronounced as investors willingly take on additional risks and allocate more capital to their crypto portfolios.

3. Renewed Interest toward challenger chains

Since the beginning of Q4 2023, native tokens of challenger chains have experienced significant performance as compared to ETH. For example, SOL emerged as the top performer among these challenger tokens, continuing the trend observed in 2021 as the biggest challenger chain by TVL and transaction volume.

4. Boosting funding: infrastructure, gaming, and AI projects

Venture Capital (VC) funding in the crypto industry has seen a significant resurge. In Q4 2023, VC deal counts rose by 21% to reach 174 deals, with disclosed funding reaching $1.42 billion, a 29% increase. In Q1 2024, there were 243 deals with disclosed funding totaling $1.94 billion, representing a further 36% increase compared to Q4 2023.

Infrastructure projects remain the primary focus of VC investments, attracting substantial capital to support the foundational elements of the blockchain ecosystem. These projects span various sectors, including hardware wallets and blockchain data providers, offering crucial solutions to address industry challenges and drive innovation.

As the traditional market integrates with crypto, it presents constant challenges for TradFi participants and newcomers to navigate through the heightened complexities. Staying informed is crucial to stay ahead in this evolving landscape.

To read the full report, visit: https://learn.bybit.com/crypto-insights/bybit-institutional-x-treehouse-crypto-landscape-in-q1-2024-analysis-narratives/

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About Bybit

Bybit is one of the world’s top three crypto exchanges by volume with over 25 million users. Established in 2018, Bybit offers a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

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