A new report by digital asset price-tracking platform CoinMarketCap revealed that the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 seemed like a lost one in the crypto world because it failed to produce groundbreaking developments.

According to a document seen by CryptoPotato, Q2 lacked strong market narratives compared to Q1, which saw developments like bitcoin price doubling, the rise of layer-2 protocols, and a more active non-fungible token (NFT) market.

A Lost Quarter

Q2, on the other hand, recorded trends like the memecoin season and the rise of BRC-20 tokens, which CoinMarketCap said was noteworthy but failed to generate the level of excitement witnessed in the previous quarter.

The first and second quarters ended with a similar global crypto market capitalization. The end of Q2 saw the total market cap at $1.17 trillion, indicating a 48% year-to-date increase, but most of that was generated in Q1.

The total spot trading volume of the top 20 crypto exchanges plunged by 36%, reaching an almost dormant state by the end of Q2. After peaking in March, the total trade volume declined to c.$523 billion per month.

Notably, the CoinMarketCap fear and greed index, which began the year at roughly 30, indicating fear, ended the first half at neutral (52), showing a significant improvement in market sentiment.

Significant Developments

While Q2 seemed like a lost quarter, some notable events occurred in the crypto space within the timeframe.

One such event is BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with roughly $9 trillion in assets under management, filing for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The move