2024: The breakout year for cryptocurrencies and meme currencies

The year 2024 proved to be a transformative year for Cryptocurrency Industry, with significant growth across key sectors such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins and the emerging meme ecosystem.

Below is a breakdown of this year’s most notable events:

Meme coins are on the rise

The meme coin ecosystem saw a five-fold increase in market cap, peaking at $112.6 billion. This rise was largely driven by the high-performance Solana network, which supported the growth of the tokens. Despite this impressive rise, memes made up only 4% of the total cryptocurrency market, dwarfed by major asset classes like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.

Ethereum Evolution with Rollback

Ethereum has cemented its position as a leading blockchain, with “remapping” introduced as a key innovation. Projects such as Eigenlayer, Karak Network, and Symbiotic Finance encouraged investors to maximize their holdings by staking ETH multiple times. While this added tremendous value to the Ethereum ecosystem, it also introduced new risks that investors had to deal with.

Bitcoin’s dominance remains unshakable

Bitcoin has maintained its dominance, especially with the introduction of staking solutions designed specifically for Bitcoin holders. Total value locked (TVL) in Bitcoin rose from 490 BTC in August to 33,500 BTC by December. Protocols like Babylon Labs have played a pivotal role in driving this growth, offering innovative collectible opportunities for Bitcoin enthusiasts.

2024 has been a great year for cryptocurrencies. The Meme ecosystem has seen 5x growth thanks to @Solana Network But this meme craze only represents about 4% of the cryptocurrency market share compared to: #Bitcoin, #Ethereum and #Stablecoins.

It happens @intotheblock Let’s explore🧵 pic.twitter.com/NDWekYrSGo

– 🍞ℤ𝕐ℝ𝔼’s SHELF (@lord_zyre) January 7, 2025

Stablecoins maintain momentum

Stablecoins have continued their steady growth trajectory from 2023, with USDT leading the market in terms of adoption and capital deployment. Stablecoins have remained a vital pillar of the cryptocurrency market, providing liquidity and stability.

Balanced ecosystem

The 2024 cryptocurrency market has demonstrated the complementary nature of major asset classes, blending utility, innovation and community initiatives. This synergy has underscored the industry’s resilience and adaptability as it moves toward broader adoption.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before purchasing any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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