Abstract
The market for digital assets has evolved since its inception in 2009. Its rapid proliferation in 2016-18 was followed by significant downward corrections in 2018-19. The article evaluates the central stages of the evolution of the market in digital assets and their effects on market participants. It presents and compares market data for initial coin offerings, equity offerings, and initial exchange offerings in blockchain and digital asset startups. The author examines data trends and their underlying causes in the evolution of the market for digital assets. Particular emphasis is placed on the emerging market for Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and its role in the evolution of digital assets. The article examines data to evaluate the feasibility of a DeFi market evolution in the decentralized market infrastructure environment of the early 2020s