Crypto 2024: A Year in Review

As 2024 comes to a close, the crypto industry can look back on a year of tremendous innovation, adaptation and huge wins. This year marked the launch of crypto ETFs, regulatory battles with the corrupt SEC, and an explosion in global adoption, all of which are changing the face of finance. Despite significant challenges posed by the Biden Administration's efforts to limit crypto banking services, the crypto industry demonstrated resilience and found innovative ways to move forward.

Bitcoin Strength

Bitcoin proved its continued resilience throughout 2024. It reached new all-time highs well above the significant US$100,000 level in December. Factors like mainstream institutional adoption, growth of DeFi / passive incomes and shifting macroeconomic conditions (including inflation fears), saw investor confidence spark into high gear. Despite long periods of choppy, sideways price movement, the year finished with strong bullish sentiment, particularly following the US Elections with political promises of even greater Bitcoin adoption. We saw growth in on-chain activity, signs of Bitcoin leaving the exchanges, and supply/demand fundamentals at play following the long-awaited “Bitcoin Halving” event in April.

It would also appear as though Bitcoin has put in a new HIGHER LOW for 2024, thus cementing yet another year of verifiable growth. The underlying trend remains strong.

2012 - $4                                                                           2019 - $3,399                                               

2013 - $13                                                                        2020 -$4,970 (COVID-19)     

2014 - $306                                                                     2021 – $29,374           

2015 - $190                                                                     2022 - $15,787            

2016 - $360                                                                     2023 - $16,625            

2017 - $779                                                                     2024 - $39,507

2018 - $3,237

Crypto ETFs take Centre Stage

Crypto ETFs finally reached critical mass in 2024, with Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs approved across most major markets, including the U.S. This was considered a watershed moment for institutions after years of resistance from regulators. It took pressure from a Grayscale v SEC in the Supreme Court with the law winning in the end. The SEC was left licking its wounds from yet another “unfaithful allegiance to the law” and an “arbitrary and capricious” overstepping of their authority. Companies like BlackRock and Fidelity Enterprises entered the space, providing much-needed legitimacy and bringing greater confidence to Bitcoin and crypto as an asset class. ETFs have been an understood and trusted vehicle of investment for decades. The significance of the approval in 2024 cannot be understated, allowing traditional investors to enter, increasing liquidity and capital inflows from institutions.

Regulatory Battles … the Crypto Industry Fights Back!

The crypto industry was under considerable regulatory pressure from the U.S., where the SEC pursued high-profile cases against Binance, Ripple, and Uniswap. Crypto companies like Ripple, Grayscale and Coinbase fought back, attracting growing bipartisan political support to curb the perceived regulatory overreach. A partial legal victory by Ripple over the SEC (a win on everything that was important), set a vital precedent for future cases and a roadmap for other companies to follow in order to fight the SEC. With a new administration and pro-crypto SEC leadership, the future looks bright for the industry.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Ripple's acquisition of Metaco strengthened its custody solutions for financial institutions and their participation in DeFi, while Securitize expanded its offering with the acquisition of Onramp, a platform for U.S. Registered Investment Advisors to offer tokenised investments. Fireblocks added more capability to its tokenisation offering with the acquisition of BlockFold, which can help financial institutions launch their own tokenized projects. Meanwhile, the acquisition of FundsDLT by Deutsche Börse (Deutsche Börse Group, is a German multinational corporation that offers a marketplace for organizing the trading of shares and other securities) was a deal allowing synergy between traditional finance and blockchain in smoothing fund distribution processes from Stock Market trades. These deals signal the growing alignment of the industry with mainstream finance. Adaption, custody, investment advisors, tokenisation, DeFi and capital investment … it's all coming together.

Sectoral Growth in the Crypto Ecosystem

Adoption and Wallet Growth Global crypto adoption went hyperdrive in 2024, driven by leading emerging markets of South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Economic necessity and increased access being two of the core factors that drove worldwide crypto adoption to new highs. Meanwhile, the global crypto wallet market grew by 31.7% during the year due to an increase in its use by individual users for transactions, remittances, and DeFi applications. Key sectors such as DeFi went over $200 billion in total value locked and NFTs began their second wind of discovery for applications in gaming, ticketing, and digital identity. Crypto banking started to gain traction by virtue of its ability to offer decentralized lending and staking as an alternative to traditional banking, especially in underdeveloped areas. Mainstream investment in blockchain-based gaming and the metaverse continues to drive innovation and adoption.

The Rise of Stablecoins

Stablecoins solidified their status as crucial players in the digital asset space with Tether USDT and Circle USDC dominating market share. Among the few noticeable breakthroughs was the introduction by Ripple of its RLUSD on the 17th of December 2024 for its seamless cross-border settlements and DeFi applications. Stablecoins show significant promise in bridging the divide between traditional and decentralised finance. The rise of U.S. Treasury-backed stablecoins continued to gain momentum. This seems to be an emerging theme. Will this provide future demand for US debt, and prolong the life of the USD as the world reserve currency? Time will tell.

Looking Ahead

Despite the regulatory hurdles and roadblocks, 2024 was a year of resistance, resilience and continued progress in crypto. The year witnessed increased institutional participation, particularly the BTC ETFs, more solidified use cases, and new innovations, thus laying a great foundation for 2025. It is hoped that as 2025 dawns, clear rules of the road are quickly established on a global basis, the financial engines of the world can fully engage and Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies are propelled to new heights.