The cryptocurrency market experienced significant ups and downs throughout 2024. As the year concluded, industry leaders gathered to reflect on key developments and share their insights about the future. This analysis captures perspectives from prominent investors and founders regarding major wins, losses, surprises, and predictions for the coming year.
Biggest Winners of 2024
HyperLiquid's Decentralized Exchange Success
HyperLiquid emerged as a standout performer with its decentralized perpetual contract trading platform. The project executed one of the most successful token airdrops of the cycle, creating what many considered the "Uniswap moment" of this market phase. Despite being in early stages of decentralization, its token distribution method and community response were impressive. The platform demonstrated exceptional product capability, execution, and technical delivery while notably avoiding venture capital investment.
Regulatory Progress for US Crypto Companies
American cryptocurrency founders and companies witnessed a significant shift from facing extreme regulatory hostility to experiencing more favorable conditions. This regulatory transformation created renewed optimism for US-based crypto entrepreneurs who had previously operated under constant uncertainty and opposition.
DeFi Sector Recovery
The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector staged a remarkable comeback after being considered crypto's "problem child" during the bear market. While undeveloped blockchain projects previously commanded valuations ten times higher than DeFi protocols, 2024 saw DeFi reestablish its importance within the crypto ecosystem through practical innovation and growing adoption.
Tether's Continued Dominance
Tether (USDT) delivered an outstanding performance, establishing itself as one of the world's most profitable companies. Contrary to predictions of its imminent collapse, Tether became increasingly successful and regulated while continuing to grow. The stablecoin giant solidified its position as a critical case study in stablecoin applications and global dollarization trends.
Biggest Losers of 2024
Anti-Crypto Political Efforts
Political figures and government agencies that pursued anti-cryptocurrency agendas experienced significant setbacks. Certain members of Congress, executive branch officials, and SEC members who promoted restrictive policies discovered that suppressing the crypto industry failed as a political strategy. This outcome may hopefully discourage future political targeting of cryptocurrency.
Underperforming Layer 2 and App Chains
Numerous secondary Layer 2 projects and application-specific chains failed to meet expectations. Contrary to predictions of thousands of successful L2 projects, reality demonstrated that users preferred consolidating on a few top-tier Layer 2 solutions rather than fragmenting across numerous specialized chains.
Financial Nihilism Perspective
The perspective that everything in cryptocurrency was merely meme coins with no underlying technology value proved incorrect. Meme coin trading volume declined significantly from 20-30% of total volume to 10% or less, demonstrating renewed market enthusiasm for genuine technological innovation and substantive progress.
Those Who Abandoned Crypto for AI
Many individuals who abandoned cryptocurrency to pursue artificial intelligence opportunities likely regretted their decision as crypto markets recovered. This pattern repeated the classic cycle where developers and investors leave during downturns only to miss the subsequent recovery.
Biggest Surprises of 2024
Meme Coin Infrastructure Growth
Pump.fun and BonkBot emerged as surprising success stories in meme coin infrastructure. These platforms provided innovative asset creation methods and trading mechanisms through Telegram bots, with both companies reportedly achieving $100 million in revenue within their first year of operation.
Political Crypto Developments
The emergence of political figures engaging with DeFi tokens created unexpected scenarios, particularly when a presidential candidate associated with a DeFi token achieved only partial sales success despite the typically enthusiastic crypto market response.
Absence of Major Security Incidents
Despite significantly increased total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols, the industry experienced no major security breaches at the L1 or DeFi level—a notable improvement compared to previous years that demonstrated enhanced security practices across the ecosystem.
Solana and Base Meme Coin Infrastructure
The rapid emergence of Solana and Base as dominant meme coin infrastructure platforms surprised many observers. These networks gained traction due to low transaction fees and convenient token issuance mechanisms that drove substantial new user activity.
Best New Mechanisms
Bonding Curves and LP Locking
Pump's bonding curve and liquidity provider locking mechanisms represented significant innovations in token distribution and liquidity management. These mechanisms created more sustainable token launch processes that benefited both creators and participants.
Yield Amplification Strategy
The yield amplification model emerged across multiple stablecoin projects like Ethena and Usual. This mechanism distributes yields generated from underlying assets to a smaller subset of users, dramatically amplifying returns for participants while maintaining underlying strategy integrity.
Market Maker Lending Pools
Basis trading innovations, particularly market maker lending pools, addressed a critical limitation in decentralized exchanges. These pools allow yield-seeking users to deposit assets that perpetual traders can borrow for market making activities, significantly improving capital efficiency in decentralized perpetual trading.
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Best Memes and Cultural Moments
Justin Sun's AI-Generated Birthday Photo
The Tron founder's birthday photo featuring 14 fingers due to apparent AI generation mishaps created one of the most memorable and awkward moments in crypto entrepreneurship, generating significant social media engagement and discussion.
Pudgy Penguins Success Story
The NFT project achieved remarkable success through consistent building during bear market conditions, eventually launching plush toys, meme tokens, and building a thriving community that culminated in a multi-billion dollar fully diluted valuation for their PENGU token.
Bonk's Marketing Genius
BonkBot's innovative marketing approach helped Bonk grow from near zero to multi-billion dollar valuation within a year, establishing itself as Solana's most successful "blue chip" meme coin through strategic community engagement and utility development.
Polymarket's Social Media Presence
The prediction market platform's intern Twitter account gained recognition for its clever commentary and engaging content that stood out in a crowded social media landscape.
Best Transformations
MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Strategy
The business intelligence company's transformation into a Bitcoin-focused investment vehicle gained full market recognition in 2024. Their innovative business model of issuing convertible bonds to acquire more Bitcoin at premium prices created a perpetual capital allocation mechanism that delivered exceptional returns.
Babylon Protocol's Expansion
The protocol successfully transformed from providing Bitcoin timestamping services for Cosmos chains to developing "remote staking" technology that allows users to stake using Bitcoin as collateral. This transformation resulted in $6 billion in total value locked.
NFT Communities Embracing Meme Tokens
NFT projects like Miladys and Pudgy Penguins successfully launched meme tokens that achieved market capitalizations exceeding their original NFT collections. This transition occurred without significant community backlash, demonstrating successful brand extension strategies.
Most Disappointing Projects
MakerDAO's Rebranding Failure
The attempt to rebrand as "Sky" proved unsuccessful as the community continued using the original name. The unnecessary rebranding effort reportedly may be reversed entirely, representing a misallocation of resources and attention.
Bitcoin L2 Projects
Despite high expectations for Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions achieving billions in TVL and bringing DeFi to Bitcoin, most launched projects became "ghost towns" with minimal activity and developer interest.
Celebrity Token Performance
Tokens launched with celebrity endorsements significantly underperformed expectations despite initial excitement about their potential advantage over regular meme coins. Most celebrity-backed tokens experienced substantial value declines over time.
Friend.tech's Decline
The once-hot social finance platform experienced an extremely short lifecycle from initial hype to virtual irrelevance, with both product and token value nearly disappearing completely despite early promise.
Best Comeback Stories
Coinbase's Recovery
The exchange transformed from market "punching bag" during crypto price declines to benefiting significantly from Bitcoin ETF approvals as a custodian. Their overseas business expansion and legal victories against SEC created a remarkable turnaround story.
Magic Eden's Resurgence
The NFT marketplace leveraged Bitcoin ecosystem development, particularly BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals, to achieve impressive trading volumes after being considered secondary to OpenSea and Blur.
Bitcoin ETF Approval
After years of rejections and failures, Bitcoin ETFs finally gained approval following Grayscale's successful lawsuit against the SEC. These products performed exceptionally well and paved the way for Ethereum ETF approvals.
Move Ecosystem Revival
The Sui blockchain reached a $50 billion market capitalization while Movement launched with over $5 billion in funding. After being overshadowed by Solana's attention in late 2023, Move-based ecosystems demonstrated strong recovery through user experience improvements and functionality enhancements.
2025 Market Predictions
Price Projections
Bitcoin is expected to reach between $150,000-$180,000, with differing opinions about whether this will be followed by a significant correction or sustained growth. DeFi tokens are predicted to experience explosive growth while AI-related tokens may see price increases despite limited practical protocol adoption.
Regulatory Developments
The United States may see its first comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation, representing a significant milestone for industry legitimacy and regulatory clarity. This could establish clearer frameworks for operation and innovation.
Market Structure Changes
Application chains and L2 solutions may experience consolidation through mergers due to high operational costs and transaction volume concentration. This could lead to fewer but stronger scaling solutions.
Technology and Risk Developments
AI agent-related tokens could see market capitalization increase至少5x from current $10 billion levels. However, the industry might experience a major application-layer security incident potentially originating from supply chain attacks or library vulnerabilities.
Mainstream Adoption
Money games similar to Farcaster or "button" games may achieve mainstream popularity through viral spread on platforms like TikTok. Additionally, new crypto ETF approvals might include established assets like XRP or Litecoin rather than emerging tokens the community anticipates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What made HyperLiquid's token launch so successful?
HyperLiquid executed one of the most successful airdrops of the cycle by perfecting their token distribution method and generating exceptional community response. They notably avoided venture capital investment despite widespread interest, maintaining community focus while demonstrating strong technical execution and product capabilities.
Why did Bitcoin L2 projects underperform expectations?
Despite predictions of billions in TVL and Bitcoin embracing DeFi, most Bitcoin L2 solutions launched to minimal activity because users preferred established chains and the technical complexity of Bitcoin L2 solutions created adoption barriers that weren't adequately addressed.
How did Tether maintain its dominant position?
Tether succeeded through increasing regularization and profitability while avoiding predicted collapses. The stablecoin giant became increasingly important to global dollarization trends and crypto market stability, proving critics wrong through sustained growth and improved transparency.
What caused the yield amplification mechanism to become popular?
This mechanism gained traction because it dramatically amplified returns for participants by distributing yields from underlying assets to a smaller user subset. Projects like Ethena demonstrated how this approach could create attractive yields while maintaining strategy integrity.
Why did NFT projects successfully launch meme tokens?
Projects like Pudgy Penguins and Miladys successfully extended their brands to meme tokens because they maintained community support while leveraging cross-chain opportunities. The natural friction between Ethereum-based NFTs and Solana-based meme tokens created delayed but successful expansion opportunities.
What factors will drive Bitcoin's predicted price increase?
Bitcoin's expected growth to $150,000-$180,000 will likely be driven by ETF adoption, institutional investment, and macroeconomic factors favoring scarce assets. Regulatory clarity and continued network development may also contribute to this appreciation.