Are Web3.0 Tokens the Next Big Thing? Market Data Has the Answer

As Bitcoin's price remains stuck in a months-long "waiting for liftoff" mode, some crypto assets traders are betting on the next potential hot market — crypto assets related to the vision of a decentralized internet, namely Web3.0 tokens.

Data shows that during the week of July 26 to August 1, Web3.0 tokens rose 26%, outperforming Bitcoin (up 10.9%) and all other tokens, including NFT (up 4%).

Year-to-date, Web3.0 tokens have surged 244%, trailing NFT (up 2,726%), but surpassing Bitcoin (up 37%).

Weekly price changes and one-year performance of various assets
Source: Arca, Messari, Trading View

According to Messari, despite a broader crypto assets market downturn since April, some well-known Web3.0 tokens such as Livepeer (LPT) and Bittorrent (BTT) have surged at least 800% this year.

Trade the Chain research analyst Nick Mancini told CoinDesk: "The Web3.0 ecosystem has grown exponentially since the start of this year and retained most of its gains after the broader crypto market selloff in May. This is a positive signal for the entire crypto market." "The price increases are directly tied to growing demand at every level and the expansion of services, which is precisely why the Web3.0 ecosystem continues to grow."

Web3.0 represents a paradigm shift for the internet, operated by network participants around the world and defined by a set of open, trust-minimized, and decentralized networks and protocols that provide computing, storage, bandwidth, finance, and other services.

For example, Ethereum-based Livepeer — a streaming platform that can protect work copyrights — provides a marketplace for video infrastructure providers and streaming applications; while Filecoin (distributed storage network) and The Graph (decentralized indexing and query software) offer decentralized file storage and data management networks.

According to Messari, excluding Chainlink (decentralized oracle project), the total market cap of Web3.0 tokens spanning over 40 tokens stands at $25 billion.

However, if only counting well-known projects like The Graph, Filecoin, and Livepeer, the market cap of Web3.0 tokens is less than $15 billion, accounting for just 2% of Bitcoin's market cap ($735 billion). But this market cap is roughly comparable to the size of DeFi last year, with Messari showing that DeFi currently encompasses 137 assets worth over $50 billion.

Waiting for Mainstream Attention

Although Web3.0 tokens have significantly outperformed Bitcoin and other mainstream tokens this year, the sector has yet to break out and has received little mainstream attention. Projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, NFT, and even Ethereum Layer2 have all experienced waves of massive attention.

This may be due to the relatively complex underlying technology of Web3.0 tokens.

Multicoin Capital co-founder and managing partner Kyle Samani said: "Web3.0 is not as easy to understand as DeFi, and in terms of mainstream adoption, it may lag DeFi by about 12 months." He added, "We expect consumer-facing Web3.0 applications like Audius — a blockchain-based decentralized music-sharing platform — and Mirror — a decentralized content crowdfunding platform — to continue growing over the next 12 months, which will change the lag situation for Web3.0."

DeFi's boom began a year ago and has maintained steady growth since. As of August 5, DeFi's market cap has grown from approximately $5 billion at the start of 2020 to over $50 billion.

Samani believes Web3.0 tokens will catch up, as DeFi sometimes faces reputation issues — for example, buying and selling DeFi derivatives in the United States may be illegal — while Web3.0 does not yet need to deal with such issues.

Samani said: "Nobody really says bad things about The Graph, but many people in the existing financial system speak negatively about DeFi." He added, "Therefore, as awareness of Web3.0 continues to grow, there will inevitably be stronger support for various Web3.0 tokens and projects, with more enthusiasm directed toward them."

Major Institutions Are Entering the Space

While Web3.0 still needs at least another year to gain mainstream adoption, well-capitalized investors have already begun investing heavily in Web3.0 tokens. According to its official website, crypto fund Multicoin Capital has invested in The Graph, Helium, and Livepeer.

Grayscale, the world's largest crypto assets management company, launched a Livepeer trust in March this year. Rayhaneh Sharif Askary, Grayscale's director of investor relations, said in an interview with CoinDesk last month that investors are diversifying their investments into Web3.0 tokens.

Askary said: "This is asset class diversification — whether investors want Bitcoin as a store of value, or Ethereum to serve smart contracts."

Askary noted: "Beyond that, other applications are built on these networks to solve other real-world problems." She added that structurally, Grayscale's Livepeer trust is essentially the same as the landmark Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Livepeer's token LPT has surged 1,050% this year. According to data from Web3Index, from February to June, the protocol's weekly revenue grew 10-fold, exceeding $10,000. Doug Petkanics, CEO and co-founder of Livepeer, stated that online streaming is a $70 billion market and accounts for 80% of internet traffic today. **Analysts project this market will grow from $70 billion to $250 billion over the next five years.** Messari noted in its Q2 review that The Graph and Ocean Protocol — Web3.0 data economy tools — also have promising outlooks.

In addition to strong applications, many Web3.0 tokens have achieved extremely high returns through staking service provider Staked. Staked is a platform that allows investors to earn returns from staking and DeFi without having to custody their crypto assets.

For example, The Graph's GRT token offers a 15% return rate, while LPT offers a 30% return rate. High return rates have generated positive sentiment toward these tokens, as shown in the sentiment chart below.

The Graph Sentiment Chart
Source: Trade The Chain

Research analyst Mancini said, "Traders are bullish on these tokens, which reinforces the network effect. They hold these tokens and profit from them, and in turn, they tell others that this is a huge opportunity."

Crypto Assets Are Far More Than Just Bitcoin

Investors once equated the crypto market with Bitcoin. Although Bitcoin remains the highest-market-cap crypto asset, its recent underperformance relative to other tokens suggests that investors are delving deeper into the crypto assets market, seeking investment targets with greater growth potential.

Arca's chief investment officer Jeff Dorman said in a phone interview: "One week's data may not mean much, but if we look at three months, six months, or twelve months, it becomes clear that interest in Bitcoin has noticeably shifted toward other crypto assets sub-sectors, with Web3.0 being one of them."

Arca's research report published on August 2 shows that Bitcoin's "upside capture and downside capture have both been poor" this year. Simply put, during the market downturn after mid-April, Bitcoin underperformed other mainstream tokens, and as the market gradually recovered in July, Bitcoin continued to lag.

Dorman noted that investors once used Bitcoin and Ethereum as on-ramps, but current data shows some new investors are bypassing these two tokens and entering other sub-sectors directly.

Bitcoin's performance relative to other tokens in recent cycles
Source: Arca

The chart above shows Bitcoin's returns relative to Ethereum and other top tokens at different time periods. Arca compiled data across four periods: 1) Bitcoin's decline since its 2021 peak (April 13, 2021); 2) Year-to-date returns; 3) Gains since DeFi's bottom last year (April 11, 2020); 4) Returns since Bitcoin's recent bottom (July 20, 2020). You can clearly see that Bitcoin's decline is largely in line with — and sometimes worse than — most other crypto assets, while its gains have been underwhelming.

This is not to say Bitcoin is a bad asset. Bitcoin may one day become a $10 trillion asset, which would represent enormous returns for Bitcoin investors (approximately $500,000 per coin), while simultaneously becoming a much smaller participant in the overall crypto assets space due to the inevitable growth of other sectors and the emergence of new crypto assets. It is easy to fall in love with Bitcoin for certain macro reasons, while also recognizing that its fate and price no longer have any relationship with the fate/prices of ETH, NFTs, DeFi, gaming, and other crypto assets. This market has grown and evolved. Holding Bitcoin is not mutually exclusive with holding other crypto assets. Bitcoin is a great asset, and many other assets are as well.

Author: Omkar Godbole

Source: coindesk.com

Disclaimer

This article may contain product-related content not applicable to your region. This article is intended to provide general information only and makes no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions herein. This article represents the author's personal views only and does not represent the views of OKX. This article is not intended to provide any advice, including but not limited to: (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) offers or solicitations to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Holdings of digital assets (including stablecoins) involve high risk and may be subject to significant volatility, or may even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is appropriate for you based on your financial situation. For questions regarding your specific circumstances, please consult your legal/tax/investment professional. The information contained in this article (including market data and statistics, if any) is provided for general reference purposes only. While we have taken all reasonable precautions in preparing such data and charts, we assume no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in its entirety, or excerpts of 100 words or less may be used, provided that such use is for non-commercial purposes. Any reproduction or distribution of the full article must prominently state: "This article is copyrighted © 2025 OKX, used with permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article title and include the source, for example, "Article title, [author name (if applicable)], © 2025 OKX". Portions of this content may have been generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Derivative works and other uses of this article are not permitted.

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