Analysts Favor Solana, Ethereum’s Supply Dynamics; Call Bitcoin ‘Godzilla Of Finance’: Messari Report
By Benzinga
Bankruptcies, lawsuits, wins for the SEC, losses for crypto operators, bad actors and the spot Bitcoin ETF approval: the crypto space in 2023 was an eventful and remarkable year.
In its latest report, Messari highlighted crypto and its relevance in 2024.
What Happened: The Messari report termed Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as the “Godzilla of Finance” based on the ETF approval, in addition to accounting changes supporting companies holding Bitcoin and the trend towards digital cash.
Price Action: Bitcoin prices were trading 3.3% higher in the past 24-hour trading session, taking the crypto past two-month gains to 26%.
In its latest State of Bitcoin fourth quarter 2023 report, Messari indicated December NFT volume stood at $881 million, surpassing Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) combined. Inscriptions represented more than 40% of total fourth-quarter transactions.
#Bitcoin had a Q4 to be proud of!
With a December NFT volume of $881 million exceeding those of both ETH and SOL combined. Inscriptions (primarily BRC-20s) accounted for over 40% of total transactions in Q4.
Dive into the State of Bitcoin for Q4 �https://t.co/LxmzO0yCUP pic.twitter.com/oZNLcVgcvN
— Messari (@MessariCrypto) January 4, 2024
Other points Messari shared were that Bitcoin boasted of a maximum of 21 million Bitcoin available to investors and the Bitcoin halving in April. With Bitcoin dominance currently at 51.4%, Messari said there is still room for consolidation.
According to Messari, DeFi’s short-term growth will be impacted amid ongoing regulatory headwinds, NFT activity looks dead. Stablecoins, gaming, decentralized social and infrastructure were estimated to move up gradually and steadily.
The report added, “We probably won’t see another 100x for Bitcoin, but the asset could easily outperform other established asset classes once again in 2024. Eventual parity with gold would yield a price per BTC of over $600,000.”
With Ethereum surviving multiple technical challenges and market cycles, it had better supply dynamics than Bitcoin. Thus Messari was not betting against Ethereum.
Among almost all of its analysts, the Solana ecosystem remained the top pick. Based on DefiLlama data, the total value locked for Solana stood at $1.42 billion compared to $660.9 million on Dec. 5, 2023.
Amongst the big winners, Messari pointed to Render (CRYPTO: RNDr), Solana, Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) and Autonolas (CRYPTO: OLAS).
Why It Matters: Highlighting names to watch in 2024 for crypto space, Larry Fink of BlackRock and Cathie Wood of ARK Invest top the list. Elon Musk and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are mentioned, as are Circle executives Jeremy Allaire and Dante Disparte, as well as Grayscale's Michael Sonnenshein and Craig Salm.
Solana’s Firedancer, Celestia (CRYPTO: TIA), BASE from Coinbase, Grayscale (OTC:GBTC), Lido and Project Guardian are some of the product experiences that Messari highlighted.
Also Read: Crypto Markets Stabilize With Sharp Decline In Liquidations, Yet Analysts Urge Caution
Photo: Solana, Courtesy Shutterstock
