This analysis report, backed by quality data, covers the major developments the Web3, Blockchain and Crypto sector has experienced this week. 

1. Breaking News This Week

• Nigeria Seeks Binance User Data

Nigeria demands Binance to share top 100 user details, aiming to regulate the exchange and strengthen its national currency, the naira, against crypto influence. The government perceives Binance as a significant obstacle hindering efforts to stabilise the naira. 

• Bakkt Faces NYSE Delisting

Bakkt, a crypto custody and trading platform, receives a warning from the NYSE for failing to maintain its share price above $1 for 30 consecutive days, risking delisting. 

• Dogecoin Soars on Musk’s Nod

Dogecoin experiences a significant surge in value following billionaire Elon Musk’s endorsement, suggesting the potential acceptance of Dogecoin as a payment method for Tesla in the future.

• Coinbase Plans $1B Bond Offering

Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, announces its intention to raise $1 billion through a convertible bond offering, targeting qualified institutional buyers. The funds raised will be allocated towards various corporate purposes.

• U.S. Orders Passport Surrender from Binance’s Former CEO

In a significant development concerning Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao, the US issues an instruction for him to surrender all active or experienced passports to a designated third party. This directive is part of ongoing legal proceedings.

• Grayscale Seeks Approval for Bitcoin Mini Trust

Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset manager, files an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a ‘Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust.’  

• Thailand Allows Private Funds for U.S. Bitcoin ETFs

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission introduces regulatory changes permitting the establishment of private funds that can invest in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds traded on U.S. exchanges.

• JPMorgan CEO Supports Citizens’ Right to Buy Bitcoin

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon expresses support for individuals’ freedom to buy Bitcoin, emphasising their rights despite concerns regarding the cryptocurrency’s association with illicit activities. 

• Hong Kong Considers Ethereum ETF

Amidst the surge in demand for cryptocurrency investment products, Hong Kong-based entities explore the possibility of launching a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund.

• Indian Platform to Introduce U.S. Bitcoin ETFs

Mundrex, an Indian cryptocurrency investment platform, announces plans to introduce U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to cater to institutional and retail investors within India.

• Tether Launches USDT on Celo Network

Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, collaborates with Celo to launch USDT on the carbon-negative Celo network. This aims to enhance transaction efficiency and streamline dApps focused on payments, lending and other fin services within the Celo ecosystem.

• BRICS Develops Blockchain Payment System

Russia, as a member of the BRICS alliance, announces the development of a blockchain-based payment system to facilitate trade settlements among BRICS member nations.  

1.1. Special Report: Bitcoin Bull Run Updates

• Bitcoin Hits $70K: Unprecedented Bull Run Signals Market Shift

Recently, Bitcoin hit an all-time high, soaring past $70,000, signalling a significant moment in the ongoing bull market. As of 16th March, 2024, the price of Bitcoin stands at around $68,880.76. This comes ahead of an upcoming halving event, scheduled for mid-April. Unlike past patterns where Bitcoin surged after halving, this time it is reaching new peaks before the event. Another noteworthy change is the arrival of spot Bitcoin ETFs on US stock exchanges, adding a fresh dimension to the market. These developments indicate a departure from previous cycles, showcasing a unique trajectory for Bitcoin’s current upward movement. This suggest that the present bull run differs from its predecessors in terms of timing and market dynamics. It reflects evolving investor sentiment and increasing institutional interest in Bitcoin as a digital asset. 

2. Blockchain Performance

In this section, we will analyse two factors primarily: the top-performing blockchains based solely on their 7-day change and the top performers among the top five blockchains with the highest TVL.  

2.1. Top Blockchain Performers by 7-Day Change

This week’s top blockchain performers, based on their 7-day change, are Fraxtal, Areon Network, Kroma, Merlin, and REI.  

Blockchain	7-Day Change (in %)	TVL
Fraxtal	+2034%	$13.04m
Areon Network	+560%	$85.74
Kroma	+503%	$784,039
Merlin	+190%	$14.67m
REI	+101%	$41,962

Over the past 7 days, several blockchain projects have shown significant growth. Fraxtal leads with an impressive 2034% surge, followed by Areon Network (560%, Kroma (503%), and Merlin (190%). REI also saw a notable growth at 101%. These substantial increases indicate heightened investor interest and potential market adoption. 

2.2. Top Performers: 7-Day Change in Top 5 Blockchains with Highest TVL

Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum One, Solana, and Polygon Pos are the top five blockchains in the market on the basis of TVL and market dominance. Let’s see how the top five blockchains have performed this week, using 7-day TVL change. 

Blockchain	Dominance	7d Change	TVL (in Billion)
Ethereum	62.33%	-5.75%	$53.58b
Tron	11.08%	+1.06%	$10.106b
BSC	6.88%	+12.41%	$5.943b
Solana	4.63%	+20.37%	$3.886b
Arbitrum	4.39%	-2.75%	$3.493b
Others	10.69%

Among the top five blockchains by Total Value Locked (TVL) and market dominance, Solana showcased the highest growth at 20.37% over the past week, followed by Binance Smart Chain (BSC) at 12.41%. However, Ethereum experienced a decline of 5.75%, while Arbitrum saw a decrease of 2.75%. Anyway, Tron showed a moderate growth of 1.06%. These fluctuations may reflect shifts in investor sentiment and usage patterns.  

3. Crypto Market Analysis

The crypto price and dominance analysis and top gains and losers analysis are the two prime factors of the crypto market analysis. 

3.1. Crypto 7-D Price Change and Dominance Analysis

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, BNB, and Solana are the top cryptocurrency as per the market cap and dominance indices. Let’s analyse their seven-day price change. 

Cryptocurrency	7d- Change (in %)	Dominance Percentage	Price	Market Cap
Bitcoin	+0.7%	49.46%	$68,880.76	$1,353,886,545,783
Ethereum	-5.5%	16.24%	$3,718.35	$446,770,252,360
Tether	-0.5%	3.74%	$0.996	$102,851,306,645
BNB	+24.4%	3.45%	$610.51	$93,985,322,481
Solana	+28.0%	2.96%	$187.31	$82,793,385,449
Others		24.15%

Among the top cryptocurrencies by market cap and dominance, Solana and Binance Coin (BNB) showed significant gains of 28.0% and 24.4% respectively over the past week. Meanwhile, Bitcoin experienced a modest increase of 0.7%, while Ethereum and Tether saw declines of 5.5% and 0.5% respectively. These fluctuations may reflect shifts in investor sentiment and market dynamics. 

3.2. Top Gainers & Losers of the Week in Crypto Market

Here is the list of top gainers and top losers of the week in the cryptocurrency market. The analysis is made using the 7-day Gain and 7-day Lose indices. 

3.2.1. Top Gainers of the Week in Crypto

Cryptocurrency	7-Day Gain	Price
Ox Protocol	+131.58%	$1.28
Jupiter	+86.98%	$1.36
Pyth Network	+58.18%	$1.10
Gala	+44.51%	$0.06514
Avalanche	+33.31%	$57.14

Ox Protocol demonstrated remarkable growth at 131.58%, followed closely by Jupiter with an 86.98% increase. Pyth Network also showed significant gains at 58.18%, while Gala and Avalanche experienced more modest but still notable growth at 44.51% and 33.31% respectively. 

3.2.2. Top Losers of the Week in Crypto

Cryptocurrency	7-Day Loss	Price
Bitcoin SV	-22.06%	$90.29
Arweave	-21.46%	$35.30
eCash	-19.41%	$0.0000582
Shiba Inu	-19.40%	$0.000029
Mantle	-17.90%	$0.8696

Bitcoin SV experienced the most significant decline at 22.06%, followed by Arweave (-21.46%), eCash (-19.41%), Shiba Inu (-19.40%), and Mantle (-17.90%). These decreases may be attributed to various factors, such as market sentiment shifts, regulatory concerns, or specific project-related developments. 

3.3. Stablecoin Weekly Analysis

Tether, USDC, DAI, First Digital USD, and TrueUSD are the top stablecoins in the market in terms of market capitalization. Let’s analyse their weekly performance using seven-day market capitalisation, market dominance and trading volume indices.  

Stablecoins	Market Dominance (7d) [in %]	Market Capitalisation (7d)	Trading Volume (7d)	Market Capitalisation
Tether	71.41%	$103,373,346,487	$130,951,632,368	$103,264,006,510
USDC	21.26%	$30,773,017,723	$16,658,776,093	$30,885,574,951
Dai	3.21%	$4,648,316,842	$944,181,765	$4,683,642,896
First Digital USD	2.08%	$3,014,277,332	$20,886,611,920	$3,007,809,366
TrueUSD	0.79%	$1,140,482,667	$137,076,979	$1,138,588,303
Others	1.25%

Tether maintains a dominant position with 71.41% market dominance over the past week. USDC follows with 21.26%, while Dai, First Digital USD, and TrueUSD hold smaller market shares at 3.21%, 2.08%, and 0.79% respectively. Tether’s significant dominance indicates its widespread usage and acceptance as a stable store of value within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. 

Let’s analyse the weekly performance of the top stablecoins further using the seven-day price change index. 

Stablecoins	7-Day Price Change	Price
Tether	-0.2	$0.9991
USDC	+0.001	$0.9996
Dai	-0.4	$0.9966
First Digital USD	-0.3	$0.9974
TrueUSD	-0.001	$1

Among the top stablecoins by market capitalisation, USDC showed minimal price change with a slight increase of 0.001% over the past week. Dai experienced a modest decline of 0.4%, while First Digital USD and Tether both decreased by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. True USD saw the smallest change at -0.001%. These fluctuations indicate relatively stable prices for most stablecoins. 

4. Bitcoin ETF Weekly Analysis

Bitcoin Futures ETFs and Bitcoin Spot ETFs should be analysed separately, in order to get the right picture of the Bitcoin ETF market, as they represent two different segments. Let’s start!

4.1. Bitcoin Futures ETF Weekly Analysis

ProShares, VanEck, Valkyrie, Global X and Ark/21 Shares are the top Bitcoin Future ETFs, as per the Asset Under Management index. Let’s use the change percentage index to analyse these ETFs. 

Bitcoin Futures ETFs	Change (Gain/Loss)	Asset Under Management (in Billion)	Price
ProShares	-0.28%	$598.78M	$31.68
VanEck	+0.33%	$42.41M	$39.22
Valkyrie	-1.47%	$38.20M	$21.41
Global X	+3.24%	$26.10M	$68.26
Ark/21 Shares	+1.11%	$8.01M	$68.31

Among the top Bitcoin Futures ETFs by Assets Under Management, Global X displayed the highest gain at 3.24%, followed by Ark/21 Shares with a 1.11% increase. VanEck saw a modest gain of 0.33%. Conversely, Valkyrie experienced a loss of 1.47%, and ProShares a minimal loss of 0.28%. These fluctuations suggest varying investor sentiment and market dynamics surrounding Bitcoin Futures.  

4.2. Bitcoin Spot ETF Weekly Analysis

Grayscale, Blackrock, Fidelity, Invesco/Galaxy, and Ark/21 Shares are the top Bitcoin Spot ETFs, as per the Asset Under Management index. Let’s analyse them using the change index. 

Bitcoin Spot ETFs	Change (Gain/Loss)	Asset Under Management (in Billion)	Price
Grayscale	-0.32%	$27.68B	$61.60
BlackRock	-0.30%	$15.42B	$39.39
Fidelity	-0.25%	$9.19B	$60.48
Invesco/Galaxy	N/A	$3.69B	N/A
Ark/21 Shares	-0.39%	$2.80B	$69.15

Among the top Bitcoin Spot ETFs by Assets Under Management, Ark/21 Shares displayed the largest loss at -0.39%, followed by Grayscale with a -0.32% decrease. BlackRock and Fidelity also experienced declines of -0.30% and -0.25% respectively. These decreases suggest a slight downturn in the performance of Bitcoin Spot ETFs over the analysed period of the last seven days. 

5. DeFi Market Weekly Status Analysis

Lido, EigenLayer, AAVE, Maker, JustLend are the five top DeFi protocols available. Let’s analyse its weekly performance using the 7d Change index. 

DeFi Protocols	7d Change (in Total Value Locked) [in %]	TVL
Lido	-5.37%	$36.863b
EigenLayer	-2.79%	$11.526b
AAVE	-1.29%	$11.368b
Maker	-1.51%	$9.249b
JustLend	+0.78%	$7.68b

Among the top DeFi protocols, Lido experienced the largest decrease in Total Value Locked (TVL) over the past week at -5.37%, followed by EigenLayer (-2.79%), maker (-1.51%), and AAVE (-1.29%). In contrast, JustLend saw a slight increase of 0.78% in TVL. These fluctuations may reflect changes in user activity, market sentiment, or protocol-specific developments impacting the usage and attractiveness of these DeFi platforms within the ecosystem. 

6. NFT Marketplace: A Basic Weekly Analysis

Blur, Blur Aggregator, Opensea, Gem and Cryptopunks are the top NFT marketplaces on the basis of market share. Let’s analyse them using the Volume Change (change of last 7d volume over the previous 7d volume) index.  

NFT Marketplaces	Volume Change [Last 7 Day over the Previous 7 Day Volume]	Market Share	7-day Rolling Volume	7-day Rolling Trade
Blur	-49.17	45.63%	15545.64	29097
Blur Aggregator	-57.37	23.46%	6825.23	18172
Opensea	-43.80	20.65%	5530.39	16392
Cryptopunks	-81.38	4.29%	1362.72	26
Gem	-55.28	4.17%	1020.53	3384
Others		1.79%

Among the top NFT marketplaces, Cryptopunks saw the largest decrease in volume change at -81.38%, followed by Blur Aggregator (-57.37%) and Gem (-55.28%), Blur and Opensea also experienced notable decline at -49.17% and -43.80% respectively. These reductions in volume change over the past week compared to the previous week may indicate shifts in user activity, market trends, or specific factors impacting trading volumes within the NFT marketplace ecosystem. 

6.1. Top NFT Collectible Sales this Week

Art Blocks #78000531, $ORDI BRC-20 NFTs #68fa5adbd, CryptoPunks #1603, CryptoPunks #5404, and CryptoPunks #5668 are the top NFT collectable sales reported this week in the NFT market landscape. 

NFT Collectibles	Price (in USD)
Art Blocks #78000531	$556,077.58
$ORDI BRC-20 NFTs #68fa5adbd	$493,162.09
CryptoPunks #1603	$296,358.53
CryptoPunks #5404	$241,201.88
CryptoPunks #5668	$239,860.50

Art Blocks #78000531 holds the highest price at $556,077.58, followed closely by $ORDI BRC-20 NFTs #68fa5adbd at $493,162.09. CryptoPunks #1603 ranks third with a price of $296,358.53, while CryptoPunks #5404 and #5668 follow closely with prices of $241,201.88 and $239,860.50 respectively.  

7. Web3 Weekly Funding Analysis

7.1. ICO Landscape: A Weekly Overview

Apeiron, YOUT Protocol, EZswap Protocol, Aevo, Age of Dino, and StarHeroes are the major ICOs that ended this week. Let’s analyse how much they have received. 

ICO	Received	Token Price	Fundraising Goal	Total Tokens	Token (Available for Sale)
Apeiron	$18,900,000	$0.11	$3,300,000	1,000,000,000	24%
YOUR Protocol	$1,120,000	$0.01	$400,000	1,000,000,000	28%
EZswap Protocol	$1,150,000	$0.04	$150,000	1,000,000,000	N/A
Aevo	$16,600,000	N/A	45,000,000 Token	1,000,000,000	23%
Age of Dino	$8,000,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
StarHeroes	$1,790,000	$0.02625	$200,000	700,000,000	12.46%

Apeiron secured the highest amount, raising $18,900,000, followed by Aevo with $16,600,000. Age of Dino also received a significant sum of $8,000,000, while StarHeroes, EZswap Protocol, and YOUR Protocol raised comparatively smaller amounts at $1,790,000, $1,150,000, and $1,120,000 respectively. These figures reflect investor interest and confidence in the projects.  

8. Weekly Blockchain Hack Analysis

As of March 16, 2024, hackers have stolen a whopping $7.69 billion. Most of this, about $5.84 billion, was taken from decentralised finance platforms. Another chunk, $2.83 billion, was stolen from bridges that connect different blockchain networks.

On March 8, 2024, Unizen was hacked, losing around $2.1 million. On March 5, 2024, WOOFI was also targeted by hackers, resulting in a loss of $8.5 million. Earlier in the year, both Seneca and Tectonica fell victim to hacks: Seneca lost $6.5 million on February 28, while Tectonica lost $0.25 million on February 22. 

However, the most significant blow this year came to FixedFlot, which lost a staggering $26.1 million due to a hacking attack. 

In this week’s comprehensive analysis of Web3, Blockchain and Crypto, we have brought out powerful insights, which can be used to stay-to-data about the market developments. As the landscape evolves, the strategic integration of technology and data-driven decision-making becomes paramount for stakeholders navigating the dynamic realms of decentralised technologies.