The global cryptocurrency market has seen a remarkable expansion, more than doubling its value since the beginning of the year, buoyed by a series of positive developments in the sector.

What Happened: A new report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reveals that 42 countries have made significant strides in crypto-focused regulations and legislation in 2023.

One of the key legislative milestones is the Markets In Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation in Europe, established in 2023, which has contributed to a more regulated trading environment. This shift underscores the growing global acceptance of digital assets, a concept that was still shrouded in uncertainty just a year ago.

PwC’s report notes, “Notable advancements have been made in global digital asset regulation. However, that significant progress … indicates that there is still much work to be done.”

Further emphasizing the sector’s evolution, Goldman Sachs pointed out the increasing institutionalization of the crypto market in 2023. This marks a departure from the earlier phases characterized by unregulated trading venues and dominant retail investor participation.

The report specifically mentions, “The institutionalization of the market was most evident in the derivatives market. CME saw a consistent increase in Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ether ETH/USD futures and options trading, and in Q4 has become the top BTC futures exchange by open interest.”

The year 2023 also witnessed other significant events in the crypto world. These include discussions at the G20 Summit about a regulatory framework based on cryptocurrency, a surge in spot Bitcoin ETF applications to the SEC and the remarkable scaling of Bitcoin and Ethereum to unprecedented levels.

2023 Best And Worst Crypto Awards: The year 2023 also brought the bad actors and institutions under the spotlight and enabled the cleansing of the crypto and blockchain industry, enhancing the sector’s integrity.

Among the nominees for the worst crypto performance for 2023, we have Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky, Three Arrows’ Su Zhu, Sam Bankman-Fried and Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon. Genesis also filed for bankruptcy in early 2023.

The best performer in addressing bad actors in the crypto industry was the SEC, which made it a priority to increase pressure on the crypto firms to stay well within the limits of operating with due diligence, transparency, and protecting investor interest.

The SEC had a significant failure: it lost the case against Ripple regarding XRP. A judge’s ruling confirmed that Ripple did not sell securities to retail customers.

What’s Next In 2024: The crypto market is set to enter 2024 with optimism surrounding the BTC halving event, potential spot Bitcoin ETF approvals and notable innovations in the DeFi space.

• Set to occur in April 2024, the Bitcoin halving event is expected to boost Bitcoin’s price higher. The halving occurs every four years and ensures that miners who keep the network secure and process transactions have their rewards cut in half.
• The spot Bitcoin ETF, which is yet to receive approval from the SEC, has 13 applicants, including Grayscale, BlackRock, VanEck and many others. The SEC’s approval window for the application is scheduled from Jan. 5 to Jan. 10, 2024 — but it’s not guaranteed.

Why Does It Matter: Crypto majors Bitcoin and Ethereum saw an 18% and 12% surge in the last month. Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, based on the past month’s gains, Avalanche reported the highest increase (113%), followed by Cardano with a 62% surge. Polkadot saw a 48% rise, while Dogecoin was up 22%.

Meme coin BONK saw a 433% gain due to the recent spike in activity around the token.

Based on DeFiLlama data, the total value locked on Ethereum in the past month saw a 16% expansion compared to Solana, which saw a 116% expansion. Cardano and Avalanche saw a 60% and 48% surge, respectively.