Crypto Market Has Evolved in the Past Year, Canaccord Says

As a seasoned crypto investor with a few battles under my belt, I can confidently say that the crypto market’s resurgence is like witnessing a phoenix rising from the ashes of FTX’s collapse. The industry has shown remarkable resilience and adaptability, transitioning from recovery mode to growth phase.

As an analyst, I’ve observed that the digital assets sector, which was impacted significantly by the downfall of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, has displayed resilience and is now experiencing growth once more over the past year. This assessment is based on a research report published by broker Canaccord on Wednesday.

FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange created by Sam Bankman-Fried, sought bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, following an exposé by CoinDesk revealing financial instability within the company. The downfall of FTX significantly worsened the ongoing crypto winter and bear market for digital currencies.

According to analysts led by Joseph Vafi, in the past year, it appears that the digital assets sector has moved from a period of consolidation and recovery following FTX, into a phase where growth and expansion of business models and total addressable markets (TAM) are once again the main focus.

Earlier this year, the introduction of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. served as a significant boost to the cryptocurrency market.

Spot ether ETFs started trading in the U.S. on July 23, about six months after the bitcoin funds.

The broker commended Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) for its ongoing transformation into a Bitcoin innovation firm. Moreover, they pointed out that the stocks have surged approximately 325% over the past year, surpassing many asset classes including Bitcoin, which has only managed to increase by roughly 148%.

Last week, financial behemoth Citigroup (C) indicated in a report that the cryptocurrency market has faced challenges since the debut of U.S.-based spot Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).