Galaxy Digital analyzes various statistical graphs and comes to the conclusion that there are "vibrant" ecosystems on Ethereum.
Galaxy Digital, an American company that manages investment funds, identified two niches within the Ethereum ecosystem that are emerging as key candidates to "exploit" during the current bullish cycle.
In a recent report, in which they analyze various statistical graphs, the firm has come to the conclusion that the sector of real-world assets (RWA, for its acronym in English) tokenized in cryptocurrency networks and decentralized finance (DeFi) show signs of vitality and potential expansion.
Before continuing, it is important to clarify that “tokenized assets” are called those tokens that represent real-world assets, such as fiat currencies, stocks, government bonds and real estate.
This sector is presented as an incipient industry in the year 2024. The total capitalization of the RWA has reached all-time highs, reaching approximately 2,774 million dollars as of February 2, highlights Galaxy Digital.
The market for tokenized financial assets, including U.S. Treasuries, private credit and real estate, has reached new highs, standing at $1.614 billion on February 8.
The dominance of the products that offer yields, between Treasury bills and bonds is 58.1%. Bonds are the favorite option of investors within tokenized real-world assets, as reported by CriptoNeticias.
The following image shows the market capitalization of RWAs, which is headed by gold and precious metals, followed by US Treasury bonds, private credit, real estate, company stocks and carbon footprint compensation bonds.
Despite the fact that the market capitalization of RWA tokens reached new highs, the dominance and use of these "on-chain products has been receding." This decrease suggests a shift in preference towards crypto-assets rather than on-chain RWA, indicating a "growing demand for cryptocurrencies in general."
However, analysts such as Mandela Amoussou, believes that this trend will be reversed and the tokenized RWAs will take strength again to "alter almost all industries” and "reshape markets".
DeFi attract with airdrops and cheap commissions on Ethereum second layers
The rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to attract users thanks to attractive strategies such as airdrops and the growth of Ethereum's Layer 2 (which charge much cheaper commissions than the main network).
An airdrop consists of "the free and mass distribution of a certain amount of tokens or cryptocurrencies." It is a strategy used to reward the loyalty of the community, encourage participation and increase the adoption of the platform.
The token delivery boosted the number of daily active addresses using DeFi on major Layer 1 and 2 networks, reaching a two-year high with 576,000 addresses by February 1.
Below, you can see the number of daily active addresses on the Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Solana and Base networks. Between January and February you can see the uptick of Solana (in green).
Despite the growth of Solana, the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem (which includes both the main network and the second-layer scalability solutions) is still constantly growing. Taking into account the failures of Solana that sometimes cause network outages, it would not be uncommon for Ethereum to have a significant uptick in activity, caused by those who want to operate in a more secure environment.
While Ethereum faces competition in the DeFi space, its persistent commitment to the second layers highlights the importance of efficient scalability to meet the growing demand and ensure a relevant role in the current bullish cycle.
Alejandro O. Asharabed Trucido
