Author: Jesse Coghlan, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance
Crypto culture was born on the internet - Crypto X (formerly known as Crypto Twitter) brought unforgettable moments again this year.
Here are the 7 most memorable X posts of 2024, some of which had a huge impact on the market, influenced policies - or just brought simple laughter.
Fake news about the SEC approving Bitcoin ETFs
The background is January 9 - just a day before Bloomberg's ETF analyst predicted that the SEC would approve the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US.
The official X account of the SEC suddenly posted what was allegedly a statement from Chairman Gary Gensler: 'Today the SEC approved Bitcoin ETFs.'
The SEC has since deleted the post. Source: X
News media quickly reported on this historic event, and Bitcoin surged over $1000 sharply.
Fifteen minutes later, when Gensler posted that the SEC's 'Twitter account was hacked and unauthorized tweets were posted' and that the agency had not approved any Bitcoin ETFs, everything collapsed.
Gensler later had to respond to lawmakers about the hacking incident, stating it was a SIM swap attack on employees authorized to access the account, while X indicated the account did not have 2FA enabled.
It was only in October that the FBI arrested a 25-year-old named Eric Council Jr. in Alabama, claiming he hacked the account and posted false approvals. Later that month, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On January 10, the day after the SEC posted the fake post, the agency approved spot trading for Bitcoin ETFs - this time it was real.
Donald Trump supports Bitcoin
During Donald Trump's successful campaign for president in the United States, he made a comprehensive commitment to the cryptocurrency industry, which he first shared on social media in typical Trump style.
"I am very positive and open about cryptocurrency companies and everything related to this emerging industry," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in May.
Subsequently, he made another supportive post about cryptocurrency in June, claiming he wanted 'all remaining Bitcoin to be made in America!!!' - considering that blockchain is decentralized and anyone can mine it from anywhere, this is a huge issue.
Although the content released by Trump is not on X, it created a huge stir on the platform and remains one of the most memorable moments on X this year.
The guy in goggles asked Trump about cryptocurrency issues
The chief of staff of the non-fungible token (NFT) project DeGods (referred to as 'Malcolm') released a video in which he asked Trump about cryptocurrency issues, with many considering this a turning point for the elected president's shift towards cryptocurrency.
Trump was hosting an event for his NFT holders at Mar-a-Lago when he pointed at the 'goggles guy' asking questions. Malcolm wore a large pair of reflective Pit Viper sunglasses and then asked Trump what actions he would take to stop cryptocurrency companies from moving overseas.
"Well, we will stop it because I don't want that, I don't want that," Trump responded. "If we are going to accept it, we have to let them be here."
Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss posted later that month on X, saying, "The guy in the goggles completely turned the tide of cryptocurrency in Washington."
Malcolm stated in a magazine interview in late May that he was "very aware that not just my issues are helping to turn the tide of favorable regulation in the US."
After spending four months in prison, CZ said 'gm'
On September 27, convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (referred to as 'CZ') returned to X on the same day he finished a 4-month prison sentence, nonchalantly posting a 'gm' (short for good morning).
He then posted a longer message, saying the food outside prison was much better and that he would 'cool off.' Then think about what to do next.
In November 2023, he admitted to violating US anti-money laundering laws at Binance and resigned as CEO of the exchange. He was sentenced to 4 months in prison in April this year.
Celebrity token bubble of Bubblemaps
The crypto data analysis platform Bubblemaps suddenly emerged this year and quickly became popular as its X posts and charts sparked a hype around on-chain celebrity tokens.
It seems that after each celebrity's token issuance, photos showed the so-called insider wallets on-chain dumping tokens at issuance, often reaping millions in profits.
It's hard to know the impact of Bubblemap on tokens, but what's clear is that many celebrity-based tokens are now well below their peaks, and at least some celebrities have appeared in court.
The meme coin craze of the Truth Machine AI robot
In October last year, after the AI robot 'Truth Machine' funded by Andreessen Horowitz released a meme coin called 'GOAT', its value skyrocketed to $150 million in four days.
Initially, people widely assumed that the robot created the token because it had previously announced it wanted to create a token, but its creator Andy Ayrey clarified that it merely acknowledged an already created meme coin.
The whole scene included artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and memes. By mid-November, the market cap of GOAT even peaked at over $1.3 billion, before dropping to $442 million.
Goatseus Maximus is a parody of 'Goatse', which is a notorious internet shock image.
The quiet return of the Roaring Kitty made a huge impact
Keith Gill - known as 'Roaring Kitty' - posted to X for the first time since June 2021 in mid-May, sharing a mysterious photo of a man curiously leaning on a chair without any caption.
Gill was a key figure in the meme craze of 2021, known for analyzing GameStop and AMC, which ultimately led to the former being shorted, allowing him to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later that year.
Gill's abruptly posted X post had an immediate effect - GameStop surged 44% in pre-market trading and skyrocketed 110% when the market opened on May 13. AMC also rose 12% in pre-market and 25% after the Wall Street opening.
Meme coins not directly related to these two companies also saw a surge, with GameStop's meme coin rising over 550% and AMC-themed tokens increasing by 1200%.
Gill continued to post many mysterious X posts and was even sued by a GameStop investor, accusing him of securities fraud for posting X posts on Reddit - but the charge was dropped three days later.
