November marked Bitcoin's third consecutive month of gains, reigniting interest in altcoins that surged in October. The total market value of cryptocurrencies, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, recently reached levels last seen in August 2022, signaling a potential 'altseason.' In the Cointelegraph Research Monthly Trends report for December 2023, a thorough analysis delves into various sectors that have shown early signs of revival, shaping the evolving crypto landscape.

Despite global geopolitical unrest and rising interest rates, the cryptocurrency venture capital (VC) sector witnessed a surge in funding in November, reaching $973 million across 93 deals. This marked a nearly 40% increase from the previous month and reflected a shift in capital toward higher-risk assets. The infrastructure and Web3 sectors led in the number of funding rounds, with 37 and 30 rounds, respectively. Noteworthy investments included Blockchain.com securing $110 million in a series E funding round and OSL, a centralized exchange in Hong Kong, completing a $90 million round. Centralized finance (CeFi) secured the second-highest investment volume with $216.4 million across five deals, while the Web3 and DeFi sectors raised $160.5 million and $78.4 million, respectively. The NFT sector, with three funding rounds, amassed $11.5 million.

Simultaneously, Bitcoin futures gained popularity on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), with open interest surging by over 20% in November. This growing interest is indicative of a potential shift towards higher-risk assets, a trend expected to intensify with the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in the United States. ETF analysts have raised their likelihood estimates for approval by January 10 to 90%, reflecting optimism in institutional interest in Bitcoin-based exchange-traded products.