2024 was the most dramatic year in the crypto space, marked by significant market volatility, Bitcoin hitting historical highs, frequent hacks, and controversies surrounding celebrity token projects. Here’s a summary of this year's winners and losers:
1. Bitcoin holders: $100,000 milestone
Key events:
On December 5, Bitcoin's price broke through $100,000, peaking at $108,000 before slightly retracing, ending the year around $96,000.
The driving forces behind this include candidates supporting cryptocurrency winning seats in the U.S. Congress, and expectations for the new government to promote crypto-friendly policies.
Representative case:
MicroStrategy: The company's Bitcoin holdings surpassed a market value of $42 billion, with its stock price increasing over 200% throughout the year.
El Salvador: The country has accumulated 5,942 Bitcoins, valued at $576 million.
Japanese investment firms like Metaplanet and Rumble boosted market confidence by increasing their Bitcoin holdings, resulting in stock price increases of 5% and 12.63%, respectively.
2. Cryptocurrency ETFs drive institutional entry
Major breakthrough: In January, the U.S. SEC approved the first spot Bitcoin ETF, leading the ETF market cap to surpass $129 billion by year-end, exceeding the assets under management of gold ETFs.
Impact: The widespread adoption of Bitcoin ETFs has paved the way for institutional investors, solidifying Bitcoin's status as a mainstream investment asset.
3. The unexpected resurgence of memecoins
Market performance:
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu led the memecoin market with market caps of $45 billion and $12 billion, respectively.
Emerging memecoins like Dogwifhat saw increases of up to 879%, while Pepe skyrocketed by 1205%.
Reason analysis: The promotion of the Solana platform Pump.fun, along with the unique speculative appeal of memecoins, reignited market enthusiasm.
Profit case: Despite the overwhelming majority of memecoins ultimately going to zero, the Pump.fun platform generated over $325 million in revenue for the year.
4. Cryptocurrency lawyers: Continuously benefiting from market disputes
Industry data:
Although cryptocurrency-related lawsuits decreased by 26% year-on-year, law firms collected fees totaling $751 million from bankruptcy cases.
The bankruptcy and regulatory lawsuits in crypto not only pushed the industry towards compliance but also provided stable income for legal practitioners.
Representative event: The bankruptcy case of FTX and the 25-year sentence of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried provided lawyers with a wealth of case resources.
Losers
1. Victims of hacks and scams: $2.2 billion loss
Major events:
The frequency and amount of hacking incidents reached new highs, with 303 incidents causing losses of $2.2 billion.
Among them, North Korean hackers tracked by the U.S. FBI stole $300 million, while crypto platform PlayDapp and Indian exchange WazirX lost $290 million and $235 million, respectively.
Trend changes: Compared to $1.8 billion in losses in 2023, the amount lost to hacking in 2024 increased by 21%.
2. The Waterloo of celebrity token projects
Typical case: The memecoin Hawk Tuah (HAWK) launched by influencer Haliey Welch skyrocketed to a market cap of $490 million before rapidly crashing to $41.7 million, leading to a wave of investor lawsuits.
Market impact: Cryptocurrency projects involving celebrities not only lack sustainability but also damage market trust due to allegations of insider trading.
3. "Paper hands" and non-holders: Missing a historic opportunity
Pain point case:
When the German government sold 50,000 Bitcoins seized from Movie2k, the price was only $57,000, totaling a profit of $2.8 billion. If calculated at year-end prices, this batch of Bitcoins could be worth $4.7 billion.
The U.S. government also sold 19,800 Bitcoins within the year, raising questions about the timing of its decisions.
Reflection: While long-term holders made substantial profits, investors who sold too early or delayed entry became the biggest losers in the market.
4. Crypto criminals: Legal crackdowns
Major events:
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on seven felony charges.
In 2016, Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein was convicted this year, setting a precedent for the U.S. government to recover Bitcoin.
Data statistics: In 2024, U.S. regulators obtained over $19 billion in litigation settlements from crypto companies, a 78% increase from 2023.
In 2024, winners were represented by investors and companies that firmly held Bitcoin, achieving massive gains through strategic accumulation and institutional inflows from ETFs; losers mostly included users with weak security awareness, speculative retail investors, and crypto criminals facing heavy legal penalties.
As we approach the end of 2024, we can't help but ask: Who will be at the peak in 2025, and who will become the destined cautionary tale? Feel free to share your insights and discuss!
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