Crypto Ecosystem Growth Slowed in January Even as Total Market Cap Rose, JPMorgan Says

Crypto ecosystem growth slowed in January, with total trading volume dropping 24%, Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Tuesday citing TradingView data. Still, the activity is double the level before the U.S. election in November and the total market cap increased 8% to roughly $3.4 trillion, the report said. The market cap growth was concentrated in bitcoin ( BTC ), solana ( SOL ) and XRP, while "declines in average daily volume (ADV) were broad-based across the ecosystem," the bank said. "We think the election was a catalyst for sure, and activity and token price levels are finding their equilibrium in the post-election period," analysts led by Kenneth Worthington wrote. Decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) fared worse on a monthly basis the report said, with a larger deterioration across a number of metrics. There has been some progress on the regulatory front. The new Trump administration established a new crypto taskforce and SAB 121 , a controversial accounting rule, was rescinded, JPMorgan said. Read more: Equities-Crypto Relationship Is Likely to Weaken in the Long Term, Citi Says