Cryptocurrencies Were the Biggest Boom of 2024

Just as in 2023, cryptocurrency investors are rejoicing as 2024 draws to a close, with Bitcoin continuing to beat more conventional investments

Cryptocurrencies were the biggest boom of 2024. Just as in 2023, cryptocurrency investors are rejoicing as 2024 draws to a close, with Bitcoin continuing to beat more conventional investments such as equities, bonds, and gold.

Bitcoin was the top investment of 2024 with a 140% gain in just 12 months. The OG token started the year at around $42,000 and reached an all-time high of $108,000.

This return was far higher than both gold's 20% increase and global stocks' 10% gain. The traditional financial sector was stunned by the blossoming crypto-investment complex that Wall Street and the new White House helped build this year.

The biggest digital asset in the world, Bitcoin, had already made a spectacular comeback in 2023, but the January approval of US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds gave it an extra boost. The original cryptocurrency broke the $100,000 mark during a record-breaking rally that began with Donald Trump's November triumph.

More than $100 billion was invested in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which allowed for the creation of comparable crypto-related investment instruments. On the other hand, there was a meteoric rise in the value of memecoins, which typically trade for pennies.

Trump, who was formerly skeptical of Bitcoin but is now an advocate and DeFi entrepreneur, rallied the digital-asset community with pledges to undo President Joe Biden's US crypto restrictions and establish America as the industry leader.

Shortly after his re-election, he appointed industry supporter Paul Atkins to succeed crypto enemy Gary Gensler at the SEC and announced the creation of the czar position for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

Among the most talked-about and controversial trades of the recent upswing: MicroStrategy co-founder and Chairman Michael Saylor has amassed Bitcoin, which is now worth over $40 billion, through a mix of convertible bond offers and at-the-market stock sales. This is a wager on the volatility of Bitcoin shares.

The more than fivefold spike in the company's shares this year has spurred investors' appetite for the stock. Bonds are also popular with hedge funds because they provide funding for winning wagers that take advantage of the underlying asset's increasing volatility.

At least for now, Saylor may feel justified in his four-year Bitcoin buying plan, which has given the TradFi community the impression that he is obsessed.

Another factor contributing to crypto's success was global politics. The US dollar's global use has been a point of criticism for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said this prompted other nations to seek alternatives, such as Bitcoin.

"Who has the authority to ban Bitcoin, for instance?" Putin has lately expressed support for cryptos. The European Union progressed in regulatory frameworks like MiCA, while Poland and Italy reevaluated their crypto tax policies. Even China, which was once very skeptical about cryptocurrency, began to change its tune.