Market Recap: Smart Contracts Lead Crypto’s Strong Finish

Key takeaways for the month:

Crypto bulls prevailed in 2023 as evidenced by the 140% year-to-date increase in the CF Broad Cap Index (Free Float Market Cap) . All flagship indices finished positive in December, buoyed by Bitcoin crossing $44k for the first time since April 2022 amid hopes for a spot ETF. The CF Web 3.0 Index led peers, rallying 47% and outpacing the CF Blockchain Infrastructure Index by 15 percentage points. Despite showing resilience with double-digit gains, the CF Ultra Cap 5 and Floating Broad Cap Indices lagged other indices.
General purpose smart contract platforms were responsible for most of the exceptionally large gains seen in December, with Internet Computer (ICP), Avalanche (AVAX), and Algorand (ALGO) finishing as the top monthly performers. Of the top six gainers, Stacks (STX) was the only non-smart contract platform, serving as the runner-up with over 116% growth in market price.
Open interest for both Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts persisted on an upward trajectory in December, increasing by over 2% during the month. Bitcoin futures specifically hit a new all-time high open interest level of 23,239 contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Surpassing previous records, this milestone reflects growing institutional demand within the Bitcoin futures market.

Monthly Index Performance

Source: CF Benchmarks, Bloomberg, as of December 31, 2023

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