2024 was nothing short of a rollercoaster for crypto aficionados, featuring key milestones that shook the industry. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlit both spot bitcoin and ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin experienced its fourth halving event, and the digital asset smashed through the $100,000 threshold. Buckle up as we revisit the year’s top five events in this thrilling recap.

Meme Coins, AI Tokens, ETFs, Trump’s Blessing, and Bitcoin’s Surge Beyond $108K

Over the past 365 days, the crypto world has grown tremendously in value, making 2024 a year to remember. From the tail end of 2023 to New Year’s Eve 2024, the industry delivered an unforgettable series of milestones. Chief among them was bitcoin reaching a historic peak, soaring beyond $108,000 for the first time ever.

Alongside this monumental price achievement, BTC shattered multiple personal records, while 2024 also proved to be a game-changer for the broader crypto ecosystem. This editorial takes you through five interesting and pivotal events that made waves in the community, each leaving its own unique mark.

1—U.S. SEC Gives Green Light to Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs

Kicking off the year in January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), signaling a regulatory milestone and drawing significant interest from institutional investors. As of today, a total of 12 spot bitcoin ETFs exist, collectively holding more than 1 million bitcoins. This newfound accessibility sparked a wave of institutional demand for bitcoin. Blackrock’s Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), for instance, earned the title of the “greatest” ETF launch in history for its outstanding performance.

While Grayscale’s GBTC held around 620,000 BTC at the start of the year, the 12 funds managed to accumulate another 580,000 bitcoin. Around 413,165 BTC was removed from GBTC and dispersed to other funds. Source: timechainindex.com.

Not stopping there, the SEC surprised the market with approvals for spot ether ETFs as well. On July 23, 2024, nine ether ETFs made their debut, garnering an impressive $2.64 billion in positive inflows since launch. These funds currently manage around $12.19 billion worth of ether, representing 3% of the asset’s total market value, according to sosovalue.com. Meanwhile, the 12 bitcoin ETFs collectively hold $106.40 billion in BTC, equating to 5.69% of bitcoin’s overall market capitalization.

2—Donald Trump Gives Bitcoin and Crypto His Blessing

Donald Trump, the incoming 47th President of the United States, has taken a surprising turn in his stance on bitcoin and crypto. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Trump declared his ambition to make the U.S. a “bitcoin superpower” and the “crypto capital of the world.”

“We’re gonna do something great with crypto. We don’t want China or anybody else to lead,” Trump said in an interview this December.

His reelection in November brought what many dubbed the “Trump Pump,” driving bitcoin’s price to new heights. The dramatic spike, featuring massive “God candles” on price charts, followed closely after his victory. After bitcoin shattered the $100,000 barrier, Trump wasted no time attributing the rise to his economic policies, congratulating bitcoiners and claiming credit for the rally.

3—Bitcoin’s Fourth Halving Event

On April 19, 2024, Bitcoin underwent its fourth halving, slashing miner rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This pivotal event heightened bitcoin’s scarcity appeal and debuted the Runes protocol, offering a new way to create fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network, distinct from BRC20 tokens. While the halving underscored bitcoin’s deflationary design, it also squeezed miners’ revenue streams.

After block 840,000, the block reward dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC on April 19, 2024.

Before the halving, hashprice—the anticipated value of 1 petahash per second (PH/s) of computational power—had topped $100. Yet, even with bitcoin climbing past $100,000, hashprice hasn’t rebounded to pre-halving levels. To adapt, miners have leaned on cutting-edge, energy-efficient machines and branched out into artificial intelligence (AI) data hosting, finding creative ways to stay afloat in the post-halving era.

4—The Rise of Meme Coins

Meme coins stole the spotlight in 2024, sparking the imagination of crypto enthusiasts across the globe. Platforms like Pump.fun helped ignite the craze, enabling the creation of more than 4 million meme coins and propelling trading volumes beyond $2 billion. Since January, the meme coin economy has grown by over $80 billion, showcasing how humor and creativity can thrive in the digital asset space.

The data is in and 9 out of 2024’s top ten crypto gainers were all meme coins. The following five coins were the top five leaders from left to right. — GIGA, NIERO, BRETT, SPX, and BOME.

Driven by viral trends and a strong sense of community, meme coins evolved from mere novelty tokens into noteworthy financial players. This year, tokens like dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe, and other dog-themed projects enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Combining humor with crypto ingenuity, meme tokens emerged as the year’s unexpected breakout stars, turning heads and, for some lucky investors, raking in sizable profits.

5—Rise of AI-Powered Cryptocurrencies:

The rise of AI-driven cryptocurrencies in 2024 signified a pivotal moment for the blockchain industry, with initiatives like Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), Bittensor (TAO), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), PAAL, PHA, GRT, and imaginative AI-generated tokens like goatseus maximus (GOAT) spearheading new movements. Constructed on the Solana blockchain, GOAT leveraged an AI agent for its branding and promotional strategies, which captured widespread attention and propelled its market capitalization past $1 billion by year’s end.

The Solana-based meme coin goatseus maximus (GOAT) became the first AI-crafted crypto asset and managed to turn heads this year.

This achievement demonstrated how AI-enhanced narratives could influence investment patterns and alter market dynamics. Together, these developments highlighted the profound impact of merging AI with cryptocurrency platforms, igniting new explorations that test the boundaries of blockchain capabilities and enhance decentralized physical infrastructure networks.

2025—A New Frontier

The events of 2024 have demonstrated that the cryptocurrency landscape is advancing at a phenomenal pace. As emerging technologies and sectors, such as AI-driven cryptocurrencies, capture attention, the forthcoming wave of innovation appears bright with increasingly thrilling prospects. As we conclude this pivotal year, the crypto sector finds itself at a fresh junction. The explosive popularity of meme coins, alongside the development of institutionally supported ETFs, underscores the expanding allure and possibilities of blockchain technologies. Looking ahead, it will be fascinating to observe how the crypto industry evolves in 2025.

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