2024: A Crypto Year In Review

2024 has been one of the most eventful years in crypto history. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest events that shaped the crypto ecosystem this past year.

Bitcoin All-Time High

In 2024, Bitcoin experienced a historic year, starting at $40,000 and ending with an all-time high of approximately $108,000 in December.

This 120% surge was driven by key events such as Donald Trump’s election victory, which pushed Bitcoin past $100,000, and the April halving, which reduced block rewards to 3.125 BTC and increased scarcity. 

The halving sparked a 146% price increase, reflecting its traditional market impact. By year-end, Bitcoin’s market capitalization exceeded $2.1 trillion, solidifying its position as “digital gold” and one of the leading assets in the world.

Donald Trump Wins

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sparked optimism in the crypto industry, fueled by his promises to support digital assets. One of his key commitments is to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, where the federal government would retain seized Bitcoin instead of auctioning it off. 

Trump has also proposed a "Made in the USA" initiative for Bitcoin mining, aiming to boost the American mining industry. By encouraging domestic production and aligning energy policy to support mining, Trump hopes to position the United States as a global leader in Bitcoin production. 

The previous SEC chair Gary Gensler has also resigned from his position. HIs replacement, Paul Atkins, is already set to lead the SEC. Atkins, an advocate for clear and fair crypto regulations, has long criticized the lack of standards in the industry and supports integrating digital assets into mainstream finance.

Trump has also appointed David Sacks as the Crypto Czar and US policy lead on AI and cryptocurrency. Sacks, a tech-focused investor and member of the "PayPal Mafia," brings a business-friendly perspective and has invested in crypto startups like BitGo and Multicoin Capital. His leadership is expected to encourage innovation while addressing overregulation concerns.

The administration’s crypto team has drawn comparisons to "crypto avengers," including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Though their focus is not directly on crypto, their support for Bitcoin and blockchain technology reflects the administration’s broader pro-crypto stance. 

Layer 2 Adoption

In 2024, Layer-2 adoption grew rapidly as Optimistic Rollups captured 59% of L2 startup activity, driven by the established networks of Arbitrum and Optimism and the maturity of their technology. Arbitrum crossed 1 billion transactions, supported by strong developer engagement and DeFi integrations, while Optimism expanded its ecosystem through OP Stack, enabling modular Layer-2 solutions and powering its Superchain. 

Base, backed by Coinbase, reached a 28% market share in its first year, capitalizing on Coinbase’s user base and its huge memecoin ecosystem. 

ZK rollups, while holding a smaller market share, saw growing adoption in privacy-focused applications and gaming. In fact, Linea, a zk rollup backed by Consensys, has gained major traction this past year, recording over 2.7 million transactions and 100,000 weekly active users in its first month post-launch.

We did a deep dive report on Linea. We sincerely believe that they are going to be one of the leading L2 of 2025.

Rise of AI Agents

In 2024, artificial intelligence became a major force in the crypto space, with AI agents changing how blockchain projects operate. AI agents are now central to many areas of crypto, from DeFi to NFTs. Virtuals, an AI agent launchpad, allows users to create and tokenize their own agents, creating new ways to earn and interact. 

Projects like Truth Terminal and GOAT introduced AI-powered tools that engage communities, while platforms like Aixbt agent provided valuable market insights by gathering and analyzing data from multiple sources. Frameworks like Zerebro’s ZerePy and a16z’s Eliza made it easier for developers to create AI agents, helping them automate tasks and build new applications in crypto.

Memecoins Outperform All

In 2024, the market cap of meme coins grew by over 500%, rising from $20 billion in January to $120 billion by December, according to a report by DWF Labs. 

This surge was driven by platforms like Pump.fun, which made it easy to create new tokens, leading to thousands of meme coins being launched. Tokens like Chill Guy and Andy Eth saw massive returns, with gains of over 47,000%, attracting both individual and institutional investors. Listings on major exchanges like Binance also boosted prices, with tokens like Neiro increasing by 7,600% after their launch on the platform.

In regions like Africa, meme coins are often traded as a primary source of income, unlike in other markets where they are seen as speculative investments. Analysts predict that meme coins will continue to outperform during market rallies in 2025, though they remain highly volatile during downturns.

The Year of ETFs 

In 2024, spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs became a major force in crypto investing. The SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, opening the door for firms like BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Invest. By March, daily trading volumes for Bitcoin ETFs reached nearly $10 billion, even surpassing the early performance of gold ETFs. November was a peak month for crypto ETFs, pulling in $7.6 billion in inflows.

Bitcoin ETFs saw steady inflows for most of the year but faced a sharp outflow of $1.5 billion in December over just four days. Despite this, Bitcoin ETFs still added 21,158 BTC ($2.22 billion) that month, pushing total ETF holdings to nearly 1.2 million BTC. 

Ethereum ETFs gained momentum, with $2.46 billion in inflows by the end of the year. BlackRock’s ETHA fund led the way, reflecting growing interest in Ethereum as a key player in DeFi. By December, Ethereum ETFs held over 3 million ETH, with institutional investors adding 220,702 ETH ($873 million) that month alone.

Regulations Outside US

In 2024, the European Union began implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, creating a unified legal framework for crypto assets across member states. Key milestones include rules for stablecoins and licensing requirements for crypto asset service providers, such as exchanges and custodians. 

Outside the EU, the UAE has clarified the VAT treatment of crypto transactions, offering much-needed guidance for businesses. Combined with its crypto-friendly policies, this move strengthens the UAE's position as a global hub for the digital asset industry. 

Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade

The Cancun-Deneb (Dencun) upgrade was the most important Ethereum updates since the “Merge.” Post-Merge, Ethereum is supposed to go through the following steps in the roadmap.

As part of the “Surge” phase of Ethereum’s roadmap, Dencun introduces proto-danksharding through EIP-4844, a foundational mechanism to lower transaction costs and enhance Layer-2 rollup performance. 

By simplifying data availability and increasing transaction throughput, proto-danksharding sets the stage for full sharding, which will distribute Ethereum’s workload across multiple shards to improve speed and scalability without compromising decentralization or security.

Beyond proto-danksharding, Dencun includes other key upgrades to enhance Ethereum's functionality and security:

• EIP-4788: Bridges the execution and consensus layers, improving network interoperability.

• EIP-6780: Revises the ‘SELFDESTRUCT’ function in smart contracts to address security vulnerabilities.

• EIP-5656: Introduces a new opcode for more efficient memory handling in smart contracts, reducing costs and improving efficiency.

• EIP-7044: Improves the staking process by providing greater flexibility for voluntary exits.

• EIP-7045: Enhances attestation inclusion, making staking more efficient and user-friendly.

Rise & Fall of Telegram Games

In 2024, Telegram games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat became hugely popular with their simple tap-to-earn mechanics. Notcoin launched in January and quickly attracted 35 million players in just three months, delivering an airdrop worth billions. Its success inspired other games like Hamster Kombat, which added new features and drew 300 million players by mid-year. 

By the end of the year, interest in Telegram games began to fade. Players grew tired of repetitive gameplay, delays in token launches, and shifting rules that made it harder to earn rewards. Some developers tried to pivot, like Hamster Kombat’s plan for a "HamsterVerse," but delays and fewer updates led to dwindling player numbers. While these games briefly gained traction, their struggles with player trust and sustainability left their future uncertain.

However, we could see a resurgence in GameFi in 2025, led by Beam. Read more here.

As you can see, there are several narratives that rose and fell throughout 2025. The main thing here is to capitalize on them before they get a chance to truly explode.

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