Having grown through 2023, it is no secret that the crypto industry is the hottest investment market globally, with most fund managers rushing to tap into the financial instruments. With the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April this year, every investor is focused on the macro bull cycle expected in the next 24 months. Moreover, Bitcoin and blockchain fundamentals have significantly improved since the prior bull cycle despite several shortcomings during the 2022/2023 crypto winter.
Bitcoin Remained Favorite Among Investors in 2023
As the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has grown to a mature investment with deep liquidity supported by institutional investors and countries already using it as payment. With the ongoing spot Bitcoin ETF frenzy, more institutional investors have doubled their stake in Bitcoin and the altcoin industry. According to the latest report by CoinShares, Bitcoin’s investment products recorded a cash inflow of about $1.9 billion in 2023, representing 87 percent of the total crypto cash inflows.
Solana Outshines Ether Against All Odds
Having been entangled with the FTX bankruptcy scandal, the Solana team has been working to improve its fundamentals as a smart contract ecosystem with a smartphone dubbed Saga mobile. Moreover, the FTX team held more than $1 billion in SOL before bankruptcy, and more are locked up for linear vesting. Institutional investors favored Solana’s investment products with an annual inflow of about $167 million compared to $78 million for Ethereum.
According to the CoinShares report, other altcoins that recorded notable cash inflows in 2023 include Ripple-backed XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Polkadot (DOT). Notably, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Switzerland were the largest contributors to crypto investment products’ $2.25 billion cash inflows.
