2024 Is The Year That Changed Crypto Forever And Here’s Why

Crypto ETFs, strategic Bitcoin reserve, pro-crypto Trump, and the new US President are just a few historical moments for crypto this year – let’s check it out.

A decade from now, when looking back at 2024 in crypto, it will undoubtedly be seen as the year that changed everything. BTC will likely flirt with a million dollars, XRP may be used to settle cross-border transactions for multiple nations, and altcoin ETFs will be the norm.

Today, we will take a look at the many landmark events that have taken place across the crypto space and how they will likely set up the industry to continue hitting record highs in the years to come;

Bitcoin:

$0.06: 'Magic internet money' (2010)
$32: First 'bubble pop' -94% (2011)
$266: Cyprus bank crisis boost (2013)
$1,242: China's first ban (2013)
$86: Mt. Gox collapse (2014)
$20K: 2017 retail FOMO peak
$3.2K: 'Crypto winter' bottom (2018)
$3.8K: COVID crash (Mar… pic.twitter.com/bkbh7vlrZc

— Aylo (@alpha_pls) December 5, 2024

Bitcoin And Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Go Live

On January 10, 2024, the first ever Bitcoin ETFs went live, marking a significant milestone in the landscape of crypto investment in the United States. Following the success of the Bitcoin ETFs, July 23 saw the introduction of the first Ethereum ETFs, another monumental moment for crypto.

ETFs have long been a popular investment vehicle for assets such as gold. ETFs allow investors to gain exposure to BTC and ETH without having to navigate purchasing and holding the cryptocurrency directly and bypassing the complexities of the crypto space.

Many of the world’s largest asset managers now have their own Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. None more notable than BlackRock, the largest investment firm in the world. The firm, which holds over $11 billion in assets under management, has over $57 billion in its BTC ETF and nearly $4 billion across its ETH product.

With the top 2 digital assets now firmly embedded within the corporate world as legit investment vehicles, long gone are the days of Bitcoin being called a Ponzi scheme (aside from Peter Schiff). Wider adoption is coming, with recent filings for Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) ETFs.

🇺🇸 JUST IN: The SEC has filed the "Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF" which includes:$BTC, $ETH, $SOL, $XRP, $ADA, $AVAX, $LINK, $BCH, $UNI, and $DOT. pic.twitter.com/F1cbuqBBRI

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) November 27, 2024

Donald Trump Becoming Pro-Crypto And Winning The US Presidential Election

Donald Trump spent his election campaign speaking positively on crypto, a complete u-turn from years past. The Now-President-Elect even appeared at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, where he championed Bitcoin, promised to oust Gary Gensler as SEC Chair, and vowed to pardon Ross Ulbricht from his unjust prison sentence.

True to his word, Gensler is on his way out after handing in his notice to avoid being canned,, and it seems all but confirmed that Trump will honor his promise to pardon the founder of the Silk Road. Ross Ulbricht’s X account, run by his wife, has been posting over the past few months regarding his final months in prison and plans for his release.

It now seems a foregone conclusion that Trump will pardon Ross once he takes office on January 20, 2025.

For my last monthly resolution of 2024, I intend to study every day and to get up to speed as much as I can as I prepare for freedom.

— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) December 11, 2024

Ripple Labs Winning Its Legal Battle With The SEC – Not A Security

The long-standing battle between Ripple Labs and the SEC has finally come to a conclusion this year. It ended with a sizeable fine of $125 million for the crypto firm. However, the judgment has clearly gone in Ripple’s favor.

District Judge Analisa Torres delivered a decisive blow to the SEC by reducing the penalty in the Ripple Labs case by 94%. The court partially granted the SEC’s motion for relief, imposing a civil penalty of $125 million instead of the $2 billion initially sought.

“This is a victory for Ripple, the industry, and the rule of law. The SEC’s obstacles against the entire XRP community are gone,” said Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse.

The outcome of this tense legal battle is a huge win for the whole of crypto, as many smaller projects had been watching closely to see what may be coming if the SEC put a target on them. Ripple’s native token, XRP, finally broke out of its SEC-imposed chains following the announcement and has surged from $0.5 to over $2.5 since November.

Trump Triggers Multiple Leading Nations Scrambling To Build Their Own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

"Russia lawmakers were this week revealed to be pushing the country to create a bitcoin strategic reserve… Vladimir Putin praised bitcoin as an alternative to FX reserves following the seizure of its funds by Western governments."

The Bitcoin Cold War has begun 🇺🇲⚔️🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/Hez4aGjy6X

— Joe Consorti ⚡️ (@JoeConsorti) December 14, 2024

Following Bitcoin’s emergence onto the world stage this year, the world’s largest cryptocurrency is now at the center of geopolitical strategies. Now, multiple nations are seemingly rushing to establish national Bitcoin reserves in an attempt to redefine their financial sovereignty.

With Donald Trump taking his place as President in January 2025 and hinting at the US creating its own Bitcoin reserve, Russia, China, Japan, and other countries have also staked claims. Whichever nation pulls the trigger and goes public first with a strategic Bitcoin reserve could create a supply shock for Bitcoin.

The total supply of Bitcoin stands at 21 million, with only 19.8 million currently in circulation. There is also speculation that 3-4 million BTC has been lost due to inaccessible wallets. Therefore, if nations hoard BTC for their strategic reserves, asset scarcity will kick in, and Bitcoin will spike to unimaginable prices.

Largest Presale Investment For A Meme Coin – Pepe Unchained Raised Over $75 Million

We're thrilled to announce that the @pepe_unchained Kickstarter has concluded and $PEPU will be listed on #MEXC!

🔹Deposit: Opened
🔹PEPU/USDT Trading in Innovation Zone: 2024-12-17 12:00 (UTC)

Details: https://t.co/MCTAU7Mchk pic.twitter.com/tBw5Q8r4sU

— MEXC (@MEXC_Official) December 17, 2024

With 2024 proving to be an incredibly strong year for the crypto market, a meme-coin supercycle was spawned. New meme coins such as PEPE, WIF, and BRETT all soared to multi-billion dollar valuations, which led to investors looking for similar plays as we head into 2025.

This is where Pepe Unchained (PEPU) came into play. The PEPU presale lasted around two months and raised over $75 million in early-stage funding, a record for any meme coin presale.

Investors couldn’t get enough of this shiny, new frog-themed token. More than just a meme coin, the Pepe Unchained team has created a brand new Layer-2 chain built on top of Ethereum. It aims to become the central hub for all meme coins, offering cheap and near-instantaneous transactions for degens to buy and sell the hottest new meme coins.

Currently, the Pepe Unchained chain offers a bridge, a pump.fun style launchpad and a DEX. Everything within the network is powered by its native token, PEPU and following its release less than a week ago, there are already rumours of Tier-1 exchanges gearing up to list PEPU.

Visit PEPU Here

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Disclaimer

Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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