1. Galaxy Research releases annual cryptocurrency forecast, Bitcoin is expected to exceed $150,000 in the first half of 2025
Bitcoin is expected to break through $150,000 in the first half of 2025 and may reach or exceed $185,000 in the fourth quarter; Ethereum will break through $5,500 in 2025, benefiting from the deregulation in the DeFi and staking fields; Ethereum's staking ratio is expected to exceed 50% by the end of 2025; It is expected that in 2025, a large number of top Bitcoin miners will cooperate with hyperscale computing (HPC) and AI companies to promote the transformation of mining infrastructure; at least one top wealth management platform will announce a recommendation of 2% or more Bitcoin allocation for the portfolio, which will further drive the inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETPs; DeFi applications are expected to begin distributing at least $1 billion in value to users and token holders; In 2025, venture capital in the crypto industry will exceed $150 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 50%; It is expected that by 2025, the supply of stablecoins will double, and more stablecoin projects supported by traditional financial (TradFi) partners will be launched.
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2. The total supply of stablecoins has exceeded 200 billion US dollars, setting a record high
The total supply of crypto stablecoins has exceeded US$200 billion, setting a record high, of which USDT reached 142.9 billion, USDC reached 42.3 billion, USDe reached 6 billion, DAI reached 4.5 billion, FDUSD reached 1.9 billion, and USDS reached 1.2 billion.
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3. Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the United States
Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Božović has signed a decision that Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the United States.
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4. Solana co-founder Stephen Akridge was sued by his ex-wife and accused of stealing SOL staking income
Solana co-founder Stephen Akridge has been sued by his ex-wife Elisa Rossi, accusing him of stealing "millions of dollars" in rewards generated by SOL staking and seeking claims including breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud. According to the complaint, Stephen Akridge "took advantage of the huge difference in his expertise in cryptocurrency and blockchain" to secretly obtain Elisa Rossi's staking rewards. Akridge served as Solana's chief engineer and played a key role in developing the blockchain platform along with co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal.
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5. Yongzhou Lingling District Court recently concluded a dispute over unjust enrichment caused by the failure of virtual currency to repay debts
In 2020, Yang entrusted Xie to hold virtual currency of a certain platform by transferring 78,000 yuan through WeChat. Later, Yang asked to withdraw his investment. Xie transferred 3,000 virtual currencies to Yang's account and said that he would settle the account later. In 2021, Yang sued Xie to the court. After mediation by the court, Xie returned 57,000 yuan and tried to use virtual currency to offset the remaining debt of more than 20,000 yuan, but Yang did not agree. Xie then asked Yang to return the cash equivalent of virtual currency. Because the platform was closed and could not be returned, he sued Yang to the court. The court held that virtual currency did not have the status of legal tender and was not legally compensable, and the two parties had not reached an agreement on the amount of compensation. After the court rejected the claim, Xie appealed and the second instance upheld the original judgment.
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6. Top 10 News in 2024: Bitcoin breaks through $100,000, Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs are approved, Trump wins the election and supports cryptocurrency and news Top 10
1. Bitcoin will break through 100,000 USD in 2024, reaching a new historical high
Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $107,796 around 2:00 a.m. on December 17. The Bitcoin-to-Gold Ratio rose to 37.3, a new all-time high, meaning that one BTC can now buy approximately 37 ounces of gold. The indicator is often used to compare the relative strength and investor preference between two assets. Compared to 36.7 during the peak of the last cryptocurrency bull run in November 2021, the indicator is now about half a percentage point higher. "The new highs show the continued adoption and maturity of Bitcoin as an asset class," said Sidney Powell, CEO and co-founder of Maple Finance, an institutional capital market.
2. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs were approved one after another
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) on January 10, 2024, authorizing 11 ETFs to start trading on January 11. On the day of approval, the price of Bitcoin once exceeded $47,000, but then fell back to around $45,000. As of December 27, 2024, the price of Bitcoin was about $96,178, more than double the day of approval.
Subsequently, the SEC approved the Ethereum spot ETF applications of several companies on July 22, 2024, and these ETFs were officially listed and traded in the United States on July 23. On the first day of listing, the price of Ethereum was about US$3,800. As of December 27, 2024, the price of Ethereum was about US$3,373, a slight decrease from the first day of listing.
As of press time, according to SoSoValue data, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETF is $109.332 billion, accounting for 5.73% of Bitcoin's total market value, and the cumulative net inflow has reached $35.910 billion. The total net asset value of Ethereum spot ETF is $12.120 billion, accounting for 2.99% of Ethereum's total market value, and the cumulative net inflow has reached $2.600 billion.
3. Trump wins the election and strongly supports cryptocurrency link
In the 2024 US presidential election, Donald Trump successfully won again after four years, and in his victory speech, he made it clear that he would promote the development of the cryptocurrency industry. He promised to formulate regulatory policies that are conducive to innovation, attract global blockchain companies to invest in the United States, and proposed to use blockchain technology for financial and government transparency reforms. This move is seen as an important policy turning point in the US cryptocurrency field, and the market reacted positively. The price of Bitcoin quickly rose by 3% after the news was released.
In actual action, Trump appointed David Sacks as the "AI and Cryptocurrency Czar" of the Trump administration, a position aimed at promoting market development in the crypto field, supporting blockchain technology innovation, establishing a regulatory framework for the stablecoin market, and working with regulators to simplify corporate compliance processes.
4. The Federal Reserve started a rate cut cycle in September
In September 2024, the Federal Reserve announced at the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that it would cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, marking the official start of this round of interest rate cuts. This is the first interest rate cut since 2022, showing the Fed's policy response to slowing economic growth and falling inflation.
Fed Chairman Powell said at a press conference that recent economic data showed that the labor market was gradually cooling and inflation was close to the target level of 2%. The current interest rate cut is aimed at providing greater growth support for the economy. He stressed that the Fed will continue to pay attention to economic data to flexibly adjust monetary policy.
This interest rate cut will have a profound impact on the market. Major U.S. stock indexes generally rose after the news was released, with technology stocks performing particularly strongly; the bond market yield curve tended to steepen; the cryptocurrency market also rebounded significantly, with Bitcoin prices breaking through key resistance levels. In addition, capital inflows from emerging market countries have increased, currencies have appreciated significantly, and economic confidence has been boosted.
Analysts pointed out that the Fed’s interest rate cut may herald a return to loose monetary policy globally, but its sustainability will depend on future economic data performance and the achievement of policy goals.
5. Mentougou’s loan repayment finally completed
In 2024, the highly anticipated repayment plan of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange finally entered the implementation stage. This started with the exchange's bankruptcy in 2014, which resulted in the loss of 850,000 Bitcoins and shocked the world. Over the years, due to legal proceedings, asset liquidation and market fluctuations, the repayment process has been repeatedly delayed, becoming one of the most complicated liquidation cases in the history of cryptocurrency.
Currently, according to the latest announcement from the custodian, repayment will be made in batches, and the first batch of victims have received partial compensation, involving assets in the form of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and legal currency. Although the repayment amount is far lower than the amount lost at the beginning, this progress marks the end of the decade-long legal and trust crisis, and also provides important legal and regulatory experience for similar cases.
6. CZ and SBF were sentenced
In 2024, two iconic figures in the cryptocurrency industry — Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) — were sentenced one after another, attracting global attention. CZ was sentenced to three months in prison and a heavy fine by a U.S. court for allegedly failing to fulfill anti-money laundering and compliance obligations, resulting in the Binance platform being used for illegal transactions. CZ has now been released from prison.
SBF was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the massive misappropriation of customer funds involving the FTX exchange. The court found that he deliberately transferred assets before FTX went bankrupt for high-risk transactions in affiliated companies, which ultimately led to billions of dollars in customer losses. SBF is currently serving his sentence in prison and his appeal was rejected.
7. VC coins are cold, MEME coins are hot
In 2024, the cryptocurrency market will show obvious differentiation. Traditional venture capital-backed project tokens (VC coins) have significantly cooled down due to market weakness and regulatory pressure. For example, the prices of Layer 2 project tokens such as Starknet (STRK) and ZkSync (ZK), which are supported by top institutions and have large financing records, have fallen sharply during the year, transaction volume has continued to shrink, and investor confidence has significantly weakened. In sharp contrast is the fiery situation in the MEME currency market. Emerging MEME coins represented by PEPE, WIF and NEIRO set off an investment boom during the year. Many tokens achieved dozens of times of growth in a short period of time, attracting a large influx of funds and retail investors. Behind this phenomenon is community-driven enthusiasm and speculative expectations for high returns.
Analysts pointed out that the popularity of MEME coin relies more on market sentiment and social media dissemination, and lacks practical application basis compared with traditional VC-backed projects. However, in the context of the current sluggish crypto market, short-term speculative demand makes it a safe haven for investors.
8. MicroStrategy (MSTR) is included in the Nasdaq 100 Index link
MicroStrategy (MSTR) is being added to the Nasdaq 100 Index. MicroStrategy will become the 40th largest company in the Nasdaq 100. Inclusion in the index will give MicroStrategy a presence in one of the world's largest ETFs, Invesco's QQQ Trust (QQQ), with more than $300 billion in assets under management.
As of December 22, 2024, MicroStrategy holds 444,262 Bitcoins at a price of approximately $62,257 per Bitcoin, valued at approximately $27.7 billion, achieving a quarter-to-date return of 47.4% and a year-to-date return of 73.7%.
9. Ethereum completes Cancun upgrade to further improve scalability and user experience
In 2024, Ethereum successfully implemented the Cancun upgrade, which was another major network improvement after the Shanghai upgrade. This upgrade introduced the much-anticipated EIP-4844 proposal (Proto-Danksharding), marking an important step forward for Ethereum in terms of scalability and fee optimization.
EIP-4844 significantly reduces the cost of Rollup solutions on Ethereum by introducing "Data Blob" technology, and is expected to further compress on-chain transaction fees to 1/10 of the current level. This move creates a more friendly environment for application scenarios such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and on-chain games, while improving the transaction throughput capacity of the Ethereum network.
After the upgrade, the Ethereum network performed stably, and the developer community and users gave positive feedback. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that the Cancun upgrade is a key link in achieving the "scalability trilogy" of Ethereum 2.0, and other improvement proposals will continue to be implemented in the future.
10. Bitcoin has seen frequent innovations in the past six months: runes, inscriptions, etc. promote ecological development
In 2024, the year of Bitcoin's halving, the Bitcoin network ushered in multiple innovations, which attracted the attention of the industry. These new features not only expanded the application scenarios of Bitcoin, but also injected new vitality into its long-term development.
Among them, Runes technology has attracted much attention. This is a lightweight token protocol that allows users to issue and manage tokens on the Bitcoin network while retaining the security and simplicity of the Bitcoin network. Compared with Ethereum's ERC-20 standard, Runes pays more attention to resource efficiency and decentralization principles, and has attracted multiple projects to join the ecological experiment.
Inscriptions are based on the Ordinals protocol. By embedding text, pictures and other data, the Bitcoin network has a function similar to NFT (non-fungible tokens). This innovation has triggered a craze among artists and collectors. The transaction volume of inscriptions on the chain has repeatedly set new records, and the auction price of some rare inscriptions has exceeded one million US dollars.
