The cryptocurrency market rallied in 2024 to become the second-highest trading volume of all time in a single year. November alone had $2.7 trillion in trades, a three-year high and better than several months in the 2021 bull run. December alone further supported the trend, bringing the yearly trading volume to $18.4 trillion.
Despite not reaching the $26.2 trillion set in 2021, 2024 was still a recovery year. The monthly average reached $1.5 trillion, almost twice the previous year’s amount. Binance also continued to dominate the market, with 40% of the year’s trading volume amounting to $7.7 trillion.
The exchange was able to handle an average of $641 billion per month, making it the market leader. Coinbase came second with a total trading volume of $1.2 trillion and a monthly trading volume of $99 billion.
The crypto market’s trend is variable at the end of 2024. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is currently trading at around $93,000 and has declined by 1% in the last 24 hours and 2% in a week. Ethereum rose by 2% in the week, implying that the currency had some positive traction.
On the other hand, XRP has been down by 4% and 5% in the last 24 hours and one week, respectively. Solana increased its weekly return by 5%, while Cardano was down by 2% and was trading at $0.8754 at the time of writing this article. Of the most popular meme tokens, Dogecoin also witnessed a 2% weekly gain.
Major Wins of 2024
The SEC gave the green light to spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10th, marking a new era in investment. These funds from BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Invest made trading volumes nearly $10 billion daily by March. The first Bitcoin ETFs were launched in the United States in the first week of October 2021, while Ethereum ETFs were launched in May 2021 as more regulatory approval of crypto investment products was seen.
These ETFs saw huge inflows, with Bitcoin ETFs taking 21,158 BTC ($2.22 billion) and Ethereum ETFs taking 220,702 ETH ($873 million) by December. This took net assets under management to nearly 120k BTC, showing increasing institutional interest. Ethereum ETFs also grew to hold more than 3 million ETH and continue to be a convenient and low-risk way to invest in Ethereum.
The Bitcoin halving that occurred on April 19 only added fuel to the fire in the market. By cutting block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, the event led to a price rise of 146%, proving that rarity affects demand.
Also, Web3 gaming on Telegram experienced an explosive increase. Other examples include Hamster Kombat and Catizen, which attracted millions of users, thereby proving the virality of Telegram as a platform for mobile apps.
Challenges in the Crypto Sector
However, it was not all rosy in 2024 as there were some challenges that were faced. The year was marked by exchange failures and legal problems for the industry. Binance has come under closer examination for potential anti-money laundering regulation violations, and eToro has scaled back services after a settlement with the SEC. Such incidents highlighted the significance of adherence to rules and regulations in protecting investors’ confidence.
Cybercrime also skyrocketed, with losses from hacking standing at $2.2 billion. The hacker attacks were carried out mainly by North Koreans, which proves that the highly skilled cyber threats remain a significant threat.
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