The top rising rates in 2023 are SOL, AVAX, and HNT──What will happen in 2024? | CoinDesk JAPAN

In 2023, Layer 1 blockchain Solana (SOL) led the way in price growth, followed closely by altcoins Avalanche (AVAX), Stax (STX), and Helium (HNT).

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest crypto asset (virtual currency) by market capitalization, also had a strong year amid growing optimism that a physical ETF will be approved early next year.

Solana (SOL)

Solana, which began its meteoric rise in mid-October, is up more than 700% year-to-date. The rally was influenced by the fact that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) named Solana, along with other crypto assets, as an “unregistered security” in June in a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. I didn’t.

Solana also fared well despite its ties to bankrupt exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, whose trial ended in November.

Bankman-Fried is a well-known backer of Solana, having acquired over $1 billion worth of tokens through his company Alameda Research and FTX. was.

Most of the increase in SOL came after the trial ended. Since then, the Solana network has also seen an increase in monthly active addresses and the launch of several meme coins, including BONK, which was recently listed on Coinbase.

Brian Rudick, senior strategist at GSR, said: “After the collapse of FTX, Solana’s survival was in doubt, but with increased on-chain activity, a reappraisal of innovative technology, and some high-profile It was a strong success due to the high airdrop.”

SOL price movement

Helium (HNT)

Helium (HNT) also saw a sizable rally in 2023, but most of it was in December, following the project’s move into the mobile space. HNT rose 500% in one year.

Helium transitioned from its proprietary blockchain to the Solana blockchain in April. Helium is a blockchain-based network for Internet of Things (IoT) devices that uses nodes as hotspots to connect wireless devices to the network.

Christopher Martin, research director at Amberdata, said 2023 was a big year for helium due to its expansion into the mobile space.

“The network has big plans in mobile and IoT, allowing users on mobile plans to earn tokens (MOBILE) for supporting the network and use those tokens to pay monthly fees. “This creates a flywheel effect in the network,” Martin said.

“Due to the recent BONK boom, Solana’s Saga mobile phone (which offers BONK as a bonus) is sold out. Saga also comes with 30 days of free access to Helium Mobile,” Martin pointed out.

“In short, MOBILE and HNT are expected to grow together with the mobile network due to the symbiotic relationship of network effects due to user growth.”

Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche had many corporate partnerships that helped push the token upwards. AVAX is up 300% year-to-date.

Avalanche announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services in January and a proof of concept for JP Morgan and Apollo Global’s blockchain platform Onyx in November. Participated in the project.

Chris Newhouse, a former derivatives trader and founder of DeFi consulting firm Infiniti Labs, said much of Avalanche’s rise this year was due to trading on the news.

“However, I don’t think this is the whole story of the last cycle, where people were just rotating through multiple layer 1s and altcoins.”

“Avalanche has made great strides in partnering with companies, partnering with Apollo and JPMorgan, and partnering with AWS at the beginning of the year. It’s becoming one of the best chains for institutional activity.”

Bitcoin also had a strong year in terms of price action, largely due to expectations surrounding the potential of Bitcoin ETFs.

Bitcoin is up 164% year-to-date. Rudick said the excitement around ETFs was the main driver, but the macroeconomic environment also helped.

Stax (STX)

Stacks Network’s native crypto asset Stacks (STX) is up 623% in one year. The token soared in March amid the excitement of Ordinals, a way to record data on the Bitcoin blockchain, and the rise in TVL (values ​​under custody) on the Bitcoin protocol.

Stacks is known to be the first token distributed through the SEC’s Eligible Token Offering in 2019.

Stax is a Bitcoin Layer 2 protocol for smart contracts that seeks to transform and extend Bitcoin’s capabilities from its widely known role as an alternative payment system to a more versatile and programmable platform.

Stax Network’s TVL has also skyrocketed over the year, rising from $6 million in January to $50 million, according to DeFiLlama data.

Most recently, the stock soared 27% on Dec. 20 after a series of positive comments from veteran investor Tim Draper.

Prediction for 2024

Rudick said he expects Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) to continue rising next year, driven in part by inflows from the approval of a Bitcoin ETF in the United States.

He also said that in 2024, “we see decentralized IDs ushering in a new wave of blockchain users, with plans and interest announced by China, the EU, Brazil, and others.”

Martin said that aside from the focus on ETFs early in the new year, real estate assets (RWA) will be an area to focus on. “The foundations are being laid this year, but it’s still a long way from the mainstream catching up.” said.

Mr. Newhouse believes that the “Depentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN) story” will continue to attract attention, as tokens such as Render Token (RNDR) and HNT have recently outperformed the market. Stated. DePIN uses crypto assets to incentivize the construction of real-world infrastructure.

“Traditional fund managers are also showing interest in HNT, with (prominent hedge fund manager) Bill Ackman also pledging support for the token in 2022,” Newhouse added. Ta.

｜Translation and editing: Akiko Yamaguchi, Takayuki Masuda
｜Image: Shutterstock
｜Original text: Solana, Avax, Helium Led Digital Assets Gains This Year. What’s Next?