Gracy's Open Letter: Three Outlooks for the 2024 Crypto World
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Gracy's Open Letter: Three Outlooks for the 2024 Crypto World
In its development strategy for the coming year, Bitget will focus on three key areas: compliance, emerging markets, and Web3.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights
Looking back at 2023, it was a year full of challenges and breakthroughs that reshaped the future trajectory of the crypto market. After the turmoil of 2022, we remained vigilant throughout 2023. As the market gradually moved past the shadow of the FTX incident, industry focus shifted toward security and regulation—yet development was far from bleak. We witnessed unprecedented advancements, such as progress in spot Bitcoin ETFs and an explosion within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Multiple positive signals helped restore confidence among industry participants and investors.
Let’s quickly review the major breakthroughs of 2023 and how they drove transformation in the crypto market.
What breakthroughs did the crypto industry achieve in 2023?
At the beginning of 2023, traditional financial institutions like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed one after another, exposing the fragility of the conventional banking system. This shift changed perceptions among traditional institutions and users toward cryptocurrencies, leading to a surge in demand for crypto assets.
The Shanghai Upgrade was one of Ethereum's most important upgrades in 2023, transitioning its consensus mechanism from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to the more environmentally friendly Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Although ETH prices dipped slightly during the early transition phase, the rise of LSD and LSDFI projects led to explosive growth in total value locked (TVL) for top LSD protocols like Lido. This upgrade fundamentally transformed Ethereum’s development landscape and market dynamics.
Throughout 2023, we saw increasing interest from traditional asset management giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity, all filing applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC accepted these filings, marking growing recognition of Bitcoin within traditional finance. If approved, spot Bitcoin ETFs could attract $30–40 billion in investments.
In Q4 2023, the Bitcoin ecosystem experienced explosive growth, with BRC-20 tokens ORDI and SATS seeing rapid price increases. This momentum paved the way for other projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem and raised market expectations for Bitcoin’s price, with some predictions suggesting it could reach $100,000.
This year has been marked by highs and lows, adaptation, growth, and internal strengthening. In this fast-evolving industry, the rollout of regulatory frameworks signals that conditions are gradually maturing for widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies. Amid these market shifts, Bitget actively explored opportunities, striving to balance compliance and innovation to achieve sustainable development.
How did Bitget grow through industry adversity?
Facing market volatility in 2023, we proactively sought opportunities and took decisive action. Regardless of difficulties or crises, we responded with agility, maintaining resilience through strong management practices and capitalizing on market fluctuations.
Although Bitget initially gained prominence through its derivatives offerings, since restarting our spot trading business in 2021, we have steadily built expertise—and 2023 proved to be a breakout year for spot trading. We expanded our listed cryptocurrencies significantly and achieved remarkable results: Bitget’s spot trading volume grew by 94% despite bearish market conditions. Additionally, we launched 355 new coins, a 46% year-on-year increase.
At Bitget, our vision extends beyond mere business expansion—we aim to lead and drive global cryptocurrency adoption. Our research and listings teams closely monitor market trends, actively identifying and analyzing high-potential projects. We introduced specialized zones in our spot market, such as BRC20 and AI-themed sections, offering users greater choice. We not only help users understand trending crypto assets but also enable them to participate in early-stage investments in promising projects.
Our flagship product—Copy Trading—also saw逆势 growth. Currently, the Bitget platform hosts over 130,000 expert traders, with more than 680,000 followers. Followers have collectively earned $450 million in profits, while traders have shared $23 million in performance fees. Beyond growing our business, we’ve continuously innovated, launching several industry-first features, including Spot Copy Trading and Premium Copy Trading mode.
Bitget’s headcount increased from 1,100 to 1,500, and user numbers surged from 8 million to 20 million. Guided by a customer-first principle, we implemented multiple initiatives to enhance service quality. In 2023 alone, our customer support team assisted 600,000 users with inquiries and helped recover over 495,000 USDT in lost assets.
Our business growth underpinned the outstanding performance of our platform token, BGB. In 2023, BGB rose from $0.18 at the start of the year to a peak of $0.70499 in December—an astonishing 291% increase. Furthermore, BGB became one of the top five largest centralized exchange utility tokens by market capitalization.
Strategic positioning and investment opportunities during the bear market
Despite the challenges, 2023 was a pivotal year for strategic expansion and uncovering investment opportunities—laying a solid foundation for sustained growth and strengthened market positioning. As market sentiment shifted from speculative hype to rational evaluation, numerous high-potential, fundamentally valuable investment opportunities emerged.
Our $30 million investment in BitKeep (now rebranded as Bitget Wallet) marked a strategic move from centralized finance (CeFi) into decentralized finance (DeFi). As the crypto industry evolves, decentralized systems offer key advantages in security, transparency, and user control. By embracing DeFi and expanding our decentralized offerings, Bitget aims to meet evolving user needs and secure long-term success in the crypto market.
Aligned with our strategic goals, we launched two funds: the Bitget Web3 Fund and EmpowerX Fund, each with $100 million in initial funding. The Web3 Fund focuses on supporting Web3-friendly investment vehicles and outstanding Web3 projects, while the EmpowerX Fund targets strategic ecosystem partners—including local exchanges, data analytics firms, and media organizations—to promote holistic ecosystem development.
Moving forward steadily and expanding continuously, we aim not just to participate—but to lead industry trends.
Empowering the Future: Bitget’s Public Welfare and Social Responsibility
From the outset, we've held firm to one belief: Bitget is not just a commercial enterprise—we aspire to create meaningful impact on the industry and society. We firmly believe that blockchain technology can shape a fairer future and are committed to equipping individuals and communities with better tools to harness the power of Web3.
Through our Blockchain4Youth initiative, we’ve committed $10 million in funding and various forms of support. We believe the younger generation will play a transformative role in shaping the future of this industry. In 2023, we hosted 26 offline educational events and partnered with universities worldwide—including University College London (UCL), University of Buenos Aires, RMIT Melbourne, and National Taipei University of Technology—to provide youth with deeper access to blockchain knowledge.
Blockchain4Youth also launched the Builders Program, aiming to recruit young talent globally and equip them with essential tools and training in crypto, blockchain, and Web3. To date, we’ve onboarded over 4,000 young builders. By nurturing this next generation, we’re preparing for continuous innovation and cultivating future leaders in the blockchain space.
Continued Focus on Security and Compliance
We believe that secure and compliant operations are fundamental to healthy industry and corporate growth. We recognize that great power comes with great responsibility. In 2023, we made significant strides in both areas.
That year, we implemented mandatory KYC procedures to strengthen security, compliance, and risk analysis, ensuring Bitget meets global and regional financial regulatory standards. We completed VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) registrations in Poland and Lithuania, demonstrating our commitment to providing users with safe and regulated trading environments. Meanwhile, Bitget is actively pursuing licensing and operational registration in jurisdictions including the Czech Republic, Turkey, Dubai, and Bermuda.
Staying true to our初心 and committed to long-term growth, we see ourselves as marathon runners—steadfast and enduring.
Bitget’s Fifth Anniversary: A New Beginning, A Fresh Start
2023 marked Bitget’s fifth anniversary. At this milestone moment, we underwent a brand refresh and celebrated with special events—taking stock and preparing for the next chapter.
“Smarter Trading” has become Bitget’s new brand proposition. We continue building the world’s largest crypto copy trading community, leveraging emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to help every member of the crypto community Trade smarter.
This journey has been defined by relentless pursuit and innovation. To inspire industry pioneers and our team members, in September 2023 we held our first anniversary celebration—the Bitget EmpowerX Summit—in Singapore, bringing together approximately 1,000 leading innovators, builders, and thought leaders from across the Web3 space to explore the future of the industry.
Looking Ahead
As we enter 2024, the world of cryptocurrency is poised for further major developments and breakthroughs. While forecasting industry trends, we are actively adjusting our strategic direction accordingly.
1. We believe BRC-20, ARC-20, and Bitcoin scaling solutions will be among the most promising sectors in 2024. Technological upgrades laid the foundation for the popularity of Bitcoin inscriptions in 2023, and their value is increasingly being recognized. With the likely approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the upcoming Bitcoin halving in 2024, a new narrative around Bitcoin inscriptions is expected. Assets such as BRC-20 under the Ordinals protocol, ARC-20 and Realm under Atomicals, PIPE under the PIPE protocol, and broader Bitcoin layer-2 scaling solutions deserve close attention.
2. Ethereum gas fees are expected to decline significantly following the Cancun upgrade, benefiting the entire ecosystem. We remain bullish on Ethereum’s Layer 2 and emerging Layer 3 ecosystems. The Cancun upgrade will enable temporary off-chain data storage and retrieval via Ethereum nodes, meeting the data and storage needs of on-chain applications. Currently, about 90% of Rollup transaction costs go toward posting data back to L1; reducing this cost will drastically lower gas fees and establish mature infrastructure for Ethereum to onboard mass users.
3. The convergence of AI and blockchain holds long-term potential and warrants ongoing attention. In 2023, generative AI achieved remarkable breakthroughs—from AI chatbots to image generators—garnering widespread interest from investors and tech innovators alike. The integration of AI and blockchain is particularly compelling. ZKML (Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning) bridges machine learning and zero-knowledge proofs, enabling verification of AI inference without revealing model inputs or parameters. This technology shows immense promise for long-term development.
We fully recognize that Bitget’s path forward will be intertwined with both challenges and opportunities. Yet, ahead lies a beacon of hope, guiding us forward. In our strategic roadmap for the coming year, we will focus on three key areas: compliance, emerging markets, and Web3.
In this dynamic industry, the importance of compliance cannot be overstated. We are continuously enhancing our capabilities and standards to meet evolving regulatory requirements. As global crypto regulations rapidly develop and mature, we are actively targeting markets with clear regulatory frameworks, advancing our licensing efforts to promote compliant business growth.
Meanwhile, as cryptocurrencies gain wider adoption, we see tremendous potential and growth opportunities in emerging markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. We are strengthening our presence in these regions and allocating more resources to accelerate development.
In this ever-evolving crypto landscape, competition among exchanges is intensifying. This underscores the urgency and importance of diversifying into Web3 businesses. Expanding in this area will not only solidify our market position but also drive long-term sustainable growth. Therefore, we plan to further expand our footprint in DEX and Layer 2 domains.
As the bull market approaches, 2024 promises to be an exciting year—for builders and investors alike. The bull run has no ceiling. Let’s look forward together to the industry’s evolution in the new year and achieve extraordinary things together!
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