2024 Wrapped: The Year in Crypto
It seems like every single app these days has its own “wrapped” where it lets you know all of your accomplishments for the year. It started with Spotify, only to spread prolifically, and now every app from Duolingo to Goodreads has some sort of end-of-the-year wrap-up.
So, we figured we better jump on the bandwagon and take a look at the major events which happened this year in cryptocurrency. So, keep reading to check out our crypto version of 2024 wrapped.
The Good
1. Bitcoin ETFs Were Made Legal in the United States
It’s been a rough few years for cryptocurrency in the United States, and 2024 started off on a good note when the SEC approved Bitcoin ETFs early in the year. Many financial companies jumped on board right away to create these financial products and offer them to customers.
If you haven’t gotten involved in a BTC ETF yet, do not worry; it’s not too late—start here by looking at our list of the best Bitcoin ETFs to invest in.
We would also like to mention that cryptocurrency is rising to new heights around the world. While not all of these instances were worth mentioning in our wrap-up, you can find some of the exciting announcements that came about this year in our blog article crypto is making waves around the world.
2. Three Arrows Hedge Fund Drama Comes to a Close
Three Arrows Capital was a cryptocurrency hedge fund that went belly up in 2023. The court case reached a settlement in 2024, with the creators of the hedge fund ordered to pay $140 million in damages to Defiance Capital.
As a result, the OPNX exchange closed for good in February 2024.
3. Solana Overtakes Binance Coin
We absolutely love the fact that certain altcoins or non-Bitcoin tokens are proving us wrong with each passing year. In 2024, Solana proved it was ready to become a major contender in the cryptocurrency market when it surpassed the market capitalization of the ever-popular Binance Coin.
We are very excited to see where this project goes in the future.
4. Ethereum Wins Against the SEC
The drama between Ethereum and the SEC came to an end in June 2024 when the SEC stated it would not be pursuing any further action against the blockchain. This was good news for developers and investors alike, as it had been a long road of battling the US government over whether or not Ethereum should be classified as a security or not.
The Bad
1. Germany Nearly Crashes the Bitcoin Market
The German government, over the past several years, seized over 50,000 BTC from criminals and decided they would offload it in July 2024. Although they had a plan to do it slowly, it was still over a month of crypto carnage as chunk after chunk flooded the market and padded the German government’s pockets.
In the end, though, crypto enthusiasts still got the last laugh, as most of the government BTC was sold for around $50,000 per coin (which amassed them over $2.3 billion) only for the value to double just 5 months later. Take that German government.
2. New Crypto Scams Arose
Unfortunately, with every year that goes by, there are more and more cryptocurrency scams on the market. A major one that came up in 2024, was one that was perpetuated on the social media app Telegram, causing hundreds of individuals to be scammed out of their crypto after clicking a link.
The scam is still active as far as we know, so learn how to better protect yourself by reading our blog article about the Telegram Scam.
3. The SEC Goes After Uniswap
It has been an exceedingly difficult year for the DeFi platform Uniswap, which has been battling with the SEC since the end of 2023. Sadly, there was no resolution for the platform this year, and the situation grew worse as the SEC announced they would also be going after investors in the platform. We will have to wait until 2025 to see if there is any resolution for Uniswap.
Other Notable Events
1. Donald Trump was Re-Elected
Donald Trump getting elected as the next president of the United States was a good thing for some people, and bad for others. Because we aren’t truly sure what the implications of him being in the White House again will be, we’ve placed him here as a notable event.
After Trump was elected, cryptocurrency increased in value, and BTC finally passed $100,000 in value. However, Trump has also made some bad choices for his appointments (namely Elon Musk, who is still robbing hundreds of investors via Dogecoin), so we aren’t celebrating just yet.
Donald Trump is also notable on this list for the 2024 launch of his crypto token titled World Liberty Financial.
2. Bitcoin Got Another Useless Documentary
In October 2024, an HBO documentary was released that stated it discovered the identity of the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto. Of course, the person who was named denies it all, and we aren’t convinced either. While we wish they would stop trying to find the elusive creator of Bitcoin, we did find the documentary to be slightly entertaining (we love to see BTC on the big screen) so it made the list as a notable event.
3. AI Rose to New Heights
AI is a controversial topic, no matter how you look at it. On one hand, it steals jobs from humans, but at the same time, it can streamline the processing of mundane tasks. While we do see a use for AI in the world we currently live in, we are also extremely skeptical of some of the side effects of this technology.
Many individuals have spoken out about AI art as stealing, while other companies have quietly been laying off individuals to instead put a machine to work for things like KYC checks. While we aren’t sure what it next for the tech, we know it will make waves in the crypto industry, maybe even next year.
