- Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETFs have been major catalysts for crypto prices and holder conviction
- The rising DeFi popularity might surprise participants next year
The past year was very eventful. From Bitcoin [BTC] halve to Ethereum [ETH] Spot ETF approval, from the quantum computing threat to Bitcoin briefly making headlines, here are some of the big highlights of the year.
This year in crypto
The biggest development by far was the approval of the Bitcoin Spot ETF. This came after some false alarms caused massive BTC price volatility, such as that of Muntelegraaf in October 2023. On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the approval of Spot Bitcoin exchange traded products, or ETFs.
Crypto Twitter went into a frenzy and investors went crazy over the idea of BTC being open to millions of mainstream investors. The emergence of BlackRock and Fidelity as two of the largest ETF funds was also a major boost to sentiment. They currently hold 550,000 and 200,000 BTC respectively.
From a niche asset class, BTC is now open to the public. The funds are regulated and managed by some of the largest entities in the financial world. Michael Saylor, co-founder and former CEO of MicroStrategy, has also been buying Bitcoin relentlessly. Other companies are starting to do that too Stacking BTC at.
The approval of Ethereum Spot ETF was also a boost for the sector.
Crypto comes to the fore during the American presidential elections
The 2024 presidential campaign sparked many debates about both candidates and the type of government they would bring. Trump’s embrace of crypto, his appearances at industry events, and his campaign promises made clear his administration’s pro-crypto stance. This greatly boosted crypto sentiment.
In fact, the president-elect has even made promises to make the US the crypto capital of the world. Policy reforms would likely be implemented to bring regulatory clarity. Trump also announced his intention to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a well-known crypto critic with a tendency to be aggressive in his oversight of crypto. Gensler is expected to resign on January 20, Trump’s inauguration date.
Whether he delivers on these promises remains to be seen.
Polymarkt and other markets are gaining fame
During the elections, there was talk of a cryptocurrency-based prediction market Polymarkt gain popularity. It allows users to gain or lose from the outcome of world events. During these elections, Trump was overwhelmingly voted the winner, which turned out to be correct.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price forecast 2025-26
In late September, Trump and his three sons announced World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) money market platform. Enthusiasts see this as a positive development, while critics highlighted the clear conflict of interest. WLF’s purchase of crypto tokens such as Chainlink [LINK] and Aave [AAVE] were transparent due to the nature of the blockchain, which increases the prices of these tokens.
The DeFi ecosystem in general is also booming. The revival of DeFi is evident from the increase total value locked (TVL) in various chains. At the time of writing, interest stood at $120 billion, surpassing the record high of $170 billion at the end of 2021 during the last cycle.
Finally Uniswap [UNI]The world’s largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on Ethereum set records in November. Monthly trading volume for a Layer-2 solution reached $38 billion, surpassing the high of $34 billion it reached in March 2024.