CipherTrace report reveals almost 50% of crypto total market cap was lost in 2022

The total market cap (TMC) of crypto assets lost nearly half of its value between January 2022 and September 2022, according to a recent report by crypto intelligence company CipherTrace.

However, the report did note that the TMC grew over 20% between the third and fourth-quarter of 2022.

According to the numbers, the crypto TMC increased to $1.05 billion in October 2022 from the $871 million recorded in July 2022. Despite this considerable growth, October’s $1.05 billion still marked a 52% fall from $2.205 billion in January 2022 — reflecting the impact of the coldest winter in crypto history.

The report also notes that the size of the market cap at the end of the third-quarter of 2022 indicated a 63% decrease from the market cap’s all-time high of $2.83 billion — recorded on November 14, 2021.

Defi and NFTs

The Total Value Locked (TVL) volume at the end of the third-quarter of 2022 sat at around $54 billion — barely showing any difference from the end of the second-quarter. However, the second quarter started with $165 billion TVL — indicating a 67% fall in TVL volume by the end of the third quarter.

From January 2022 to September 2022, Ethereum (ETH) continued to account for the most significant TVL volume. Its yearly high was recorded during the first-quarter at 79.9% but fell to 57.12% by the third-quarter.

Total non-fungible token (NFT) trading volumes also reflected the effects of the bear market throughout 2022. The aggregate trading volume of the top eight chains fell to $2.3 billion in the third-quarter from the $13.9 billion recorded in the first — marking an 83% decrease.

Hacks, thefts, and fraud

The report also examines the significant exploits that took place between January 2022 and September 2022. The numbers indicate that the crypto sphere lost $383 million to only seven criminal episodes.

Nomad recorded the largest loss of over $190 million to a bridge exploit in January 2022 — while Wintermute saw the second-largest loss, losing $160 million to a hack. Crema Finance ranked third after losing over $8 million to a flash loan attack.