The overall crypto market staged an intensive bull run this year, making it a crucial part of crypto history.
Several key milestones were hit by different sectors in the past 12 months.
Looking back at December 2023, the crypto landscape almost looks unrecognizable to the current picturesque. Such is the transformation that 2024 has brought to multiple sectors of cryptocurrency. Amidst this year of change, standing at the forefront is the concept of mainstream adoption. Several nations have evaluated their stance on crypto as a direct result of this development.
Secondly, Bitcoin has become the talk of not only a nation but worldwide, resulting from its price action. This year-end arrival of Bitcoin’s hitting its $100K milestone has left a mark in crypto history. A milestone such as this has caused quite a tumult of activity driving hoards of new investors and piquing interest in the sector. For these predominant reasons, 2024 has turned out to be a crucial year for our community.
This article discusses the key milestones and events that summed up the crypto bull run over the past 365 days attempting to provide an overview.
The Q1 Bull Run – March 2024
During mid-March, the crypto market witnessed a major price breakout that later extended into a bullish rally. On March 14, Bitcoin hit a new ATH of $73,700 after which several altcoins also performed with significant rallies.
A huge influx of capital and interest in the newly launched ETP products – US spot Bitcoin ETFs, at the time proved to be the major propellant for the bulls. The US spot Bitcoin ETFs were launched on January 11, this year. They currently hold a cumulative total net inflow of $34.35 billion as per SoSovalue data.
US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Daily Net Inflows Chart (Source: SoSovalue )
Bitcoin’s new ATH also reflected other altcoins to hit new highs or close in on its previous trading levels. These trading levels were observed in the crypto assets prior to the 2022 crash. Moreover, during this bull run, particular sectors such as stablecoins and AI tokens outperformed other sectors and set new trading levels.
This bull run set the pace for 2024’s crypto bull run which reappeared in the last quarter of the year.
What Happened in Crypto’s Uptober Bullish Rally?
After the March bull run, the cryptocurrency sector saw an interesting turn of events. With the US electoral campaigns’ initiation, Donald Trump began advocating for crypto. This drove attention to the sector from the mainstream. However, prices continued to consolidate after the March bullish rally.
This was later followed by significant market crashes at the beginning of July and August. Afterward, September saw a price recovery but no significant gains.
At the beginning of October, market analysts such as Ali predicted a crypto bull market. This was in reference to previous historical data which stated every bullish cycle began in October. The crypto market followed through with this prediction and saw Bitcoin surpass $70K towards the end of the month.
While several altcoins also began performing, Ethereum failed to show significant price increases. The cryptocurrency continued to stay in a prolonged consolidation and has only recently begun to turn bullish.
US Elections and Moonvember
At the beginning of November, the US Elections’ buzz intensified beyond measure. The crypto community began to resemble more and more the urgency of a crowded newspaper office. After the election, Bitcoin began driving prices to its new ATH and instigated the Altcoin season.
Several cryptocurrencies such as SUI, Worldcoin, PEPE, and DOGE initiated their price breakouts. DOGE took to the spotlight with tremendous rallies in the week following Trump’s victory.
The BTC rally caused the leading cryptocurrency to reach the $90,000 level as the month progressed. Additionally, other aspects such as new administrative positions that would work for crypto regulations also caused rallies.
For instance, the DOGE rally was propelled by Trump’s announcement of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both members who endorsed crypto, head the organization.
These pro-crypto actions resulted in several members re-evaluating their crypto stance in the following days. Additionally, this period also saw numerous countries such as Russia, relax crypto restrictions and enhance their regulatory outlook.
Thirdly, Trump’s selection of a new SEC chair caused further upward price movements and initiated a rally in Ripple’s XRP. The native token has surpassed Solana in market cap to become the third-largest asset in the crypto market.
Bitcoin Hits $100K Unearthing New Milestone
In December, Bitcoin was still trading around the $90K level, teasing the hit of $0.1 million. On December 4, MicroStrategy’s founder Michael Saylor pitched Bitcoin to Microsoft’s board of directors. This closed the final deal on BTC’s hitting the $100K level which occurred on December 5.
The largest cryptocurrency reaching this crucial resistance level further amplified attention from the mainstream financial sector. Numerous institutions began setting up Bitcoin reserves including several governments. The USA saw multiple states announcing a governmental Bitcoin reserve.
This new milestone saw huge liquidations from the crypto market, with several investors making huge profits. Additionally, as per Arkham intelligence data, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings value also hit new levels. At the time of writing, the government’s holdings accounted for $584.31 million.
Altseason 2024 – When Altcoins Contested for the Spotlight
When Bitcoin began its rally, as aforementioned, it also initiated an upward movement in the overall crypto market. Subsequently, numerous altcoins began rallying and outperforming each other. While DOGE initiated it, other previously dormant tokens such as HBAR and Uniswap took it forward.
Bitcoin & AltSeason Activity in 2024
Helium (HNT) hit a new all-time high in November and was also accompanied by PEPE and SUI in the following days. Additionally, Solana also rallied, surpassing the $200 level and marking a new ATH.
Although some of the cryptocurrencies have since then recorded price dips, they still contributed to fueling the Altseason of 2024. Market analysts have predicted that it can be resumed in the coming days. Additionally, towards the end of November, Bitcoin Dominance and Altscore began indicating the Altseason as per several reports. Particularly, TradingView data suggests the beginning of the Altcoins’ rally.
Secondly, in the last few days, Ethereum has also recorded upward movements. Its weekly chart depicts a 7.28% price increase as it surged to a high of $4,080. At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $3,693 as per CMC data.
How Did the Crypto Bull Market Impact Memes and AI?
The memecoin and AI sectors entered along with the others, full-fledged into the bullish rally. Some of the aforementioned tokens stood out within the Memes rally. On the other hand, in the past two months, two memecoins – GOAT and PNUT caught significant attention.
Goatseus Maximus ($GOAT) and Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) soared significantly within a short period of launch. GOAT gained fame due to its being a bot-driven rally, one of the first of its kind.
Meanwhile, Peanut the Squirrel caught momentum due to its backstory and rallied, within two weeks of its launch in November. According to reports, the memecoin witnessed a 3500% surge during this time span.
Memecoin & AI Sectors Activity in 2024
On the other hand, the AI tokens also showed significant growth over the past months. Due to AI’s blockchain integration, this particular sector has seen immense interest from mainstream technical firms. Specific tokens such as Near Protocol (NEAR), and Bittensor (TAO) showed significant price surges over the past year as per CMC data.
Conclusion
On a final note, the above-discussed aspects and incidents contribute to why 2024 has become a crucial year in crypto history. Although the bull market has encountered increased liquidations and the market crash it still doesn’t undermine the significance of this year’s rally.
Apart from the overall market, the regulatory landscape also witnessed significant change over the past year. While H1 saw rigorous ‘regulation through enforcement’, the past few months have seen a change.
With a new administration in construction in the US’s SEC, it is expected to turn pro-crypto. This has also caused the global market to alter its perceptions and multiple governments have proceeded to regulate cryptocurrency. Some of these countries include India, Nigeria, and South Korea. Finally, the DeFi sector also saw expansions with activity surging and the influx of new projects. However, the Q3 bull market still holds the center stage in driving 2024’s mainstream adoption of crypto.
