According to the latest research from CoinMarketCap, the first half of 2023 will be both challenging and exciting for the global cryptocurrency market. At the end of the second quarter, the market value reached 1.17 trillion US dollars, an increase of 48% from the beginning of the year.
The total market capitalization was similar between Q1 and Q2, however, some sectors saw significant growth, bringing them into the spotlight.
Among them, the virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) industry has experienced an astonishing surge, with its market value surging by 704%, the report said.
The report noted renewed interest in AI-related tokens such as SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET) in June, rebounding nearly 40% from mid-June lows.
Likewise, the speculative frenzy surrounding meme tokens intensified in the first half, with over 260 new tokens added, led by the iconic PEPE token.
Specifically, PEPE is worth more than 3,700 times in the first half of 2023.
Although PEPE has experienced a pullback from its peak in May, CoinMarketCap revealed that the token has rebounded nearly 100% from its mid-June lows.