New report shows how Sushiswap led CORE’s 74% QoQ DeFi TVL growth

• The core chain’s market cap surged 144% to $1.21 billion in Q1 2024, and defi TVL grew 74% to $6.75 million, with Sushiswap leading in TVL.

• In Q1, the Core ecosystem advanced with stCORE, Glyph’s rise, and the launch of Core Ignition.

In Q1 2024, Core Chain’s market capitalization soared to $1.21 billion, marking a 144% quarter-over-quarter surge in the Core token price, driven by a 1% increase in its circulating supply. This growth elevated CORE’s CoinMarketCap rank from 119 to 58.

The Core blockchain is a layer one blockchain that utilizes and supports Bitcoin miners (and holders) on an EVM-compatible chain. It is designed to solve the blockchain trilemma by leveraging a unique two-way consensus mechanism called Satoshi Plus. This mechanism combines proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS) to ensure the security and decentralization of the network.

CORE is the native token of Core Chain. It’s used for transaction fees, staking (and mining) rewards, and governance. Its total supply is 2.1 billion, distributed through block rewards over 81 years. CORE has a minor deflationary mechanism, which can burn excess rewards for relayers and verifiers.

A report published by Messari showed that the token’s price spike also led to a 28% increase in Core Chain’s Q1 revenue in USD, reaching $94,000, while revenue in CORE tokens saw a modest 8% rise to 153,000 CORE. The increase was due to users’ involvement with Inscriptions on the Core chain, which are pieces of data, like images, posted on a blockchain. 

Another core review showed that the average daily active addresses and transactions increased 22% to 43,000 and 8% to 863,000 in Q1, respectively. Although the number of active addresses in Q1 was lower than in the first three quarters of 2023, the increase in transactions indicates more “power users” engaging in frequent transactions.

Core Chain’s DeFi TVL increased 74% QoQ to $6.75 million

Core Chain’s DeFi total value locked (TVL) grew by 74% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $6.75 million at the end of Q1 2024. Per the report, this growth primarily occurred in March and coincided with a CORE price rise, as mentioned earlier.

Furthermore, in the first quarter, SushiSwap was the leading DeFi platform on Core Chain in terms of TVL. The multi-chain DEX held about $2.1 million in TVL, placing it at the top amongst other DeFi platforms such as Glyph, LFGSwap, and Archer. 

It’s also worth noting that Glyph was the fastest-growing, launching in March and surpassing $1 million in TVL within just a few weeks.

The Core Chain ecosystem is focused on BTC and BTC-derivative assets. NFT marketplaces such as Wizard Gallery act as launchpads and platforms for trading NFTs and support the trading of bridged Bitcoin Ordinals.

Core Chain is connected to other networks through LayerZero, among other bridges. LayerZero activity to and from Core Chain is primarily with BNB or Polygon. Although, activity with Ethereum L2s Arbitrum and Optimism has picked up through Q1.

Other developments

The Core ecosystem witnessed several significant advancements and initiatives in the first quarter. The introduction of stCORE unveiled a liquid-staked variant of the CORE token, granting users flexibility and potential rewards.

Meanwhile, Glyph emerged as a fresh decentralized exchange, providing a venue for direct cryptocurrency trades. Core Ignition, a six-month scheme, was set up to spur growth in Bitcoin DeFi by incentivizing developers and new projects.

Core Chain Ventures, a network of 50 venture capitalists and investors, began providing resources to bolster ecosystem builders. The Core Foundation further fueled innovation by establishing a $5 million fund to back emerging projects.

In March, coreBTC launched, offering a bridged version of Bitcoin designed to enhance Bitcoin DeFi capabilities within the Core ecosystem.