What’s New in Cryptocurrency for 2024?

The cryptocurrency landscape has been turbulent over the past year. After a period of fraud and declining prices, the market has bounced back in 2024, now boasting a $2.66 trillion market cap, close to its peak in 2021.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key trends driving the current bull market and attracting investors. We’ll also cover the regulations and environmental issues that might impact the market soon.

Here are the ongoing and upcoming crypto trends through 2025 and beyond.

Bull Market and ETFs

Bitcoin’s value surged 150% at the start of 2024, with many expecting this bull run to extend into 2025.

Bitcoin's price jumped from around $44,000 in early 2024 to nearly $70,000 by late May. Two major factors fuel this bull market: the approval of spot ETFs and the halving event.

Bitcoin ETFs, designed by brokerages since 2013, received SEC approval in January 2024. These ETFs allow investors to own Bitcoin indirectly through shares, making it easier and more cost-effective to invest without dealing with crypto exchanges.

BlackRock and Fidelity are leading the Bitcoin ETF market, holding $15 billion and $9 billion in Bitcoin assets, respectively.

The Bitcoin halving event, which last occurred in April 2024, cuts mining rewards in half, reducing the rate of new Bitcoin supply. This decreased supply typically drives demand and price increases. Historically, Bitcoin’s price rose by 51% in 2016 and 83% in 2020 after similar events.

The Rise of AI in Cryptocurrency

AI is increasingly integrated into the crypto world, with AI tokens representing ventures like blockchain protocols and decentralized platforms. These tokens can be used for payments, access to services, and governance.

As of now, there are about 90 AI tokens, with their combined market value skyrocketing from $2.7 billion in April 2023 to over $39 billion. Fetch.ai’s token (FET) saw a 329% increase from mid-February to mid-March 2024. The platform merged its AI token with those from SingularityNET and Ocean Protocol, forming a new token: ASI (artificial superintelligence).

A New Era for Crypto Investors

After a wave of bankruptcies in 2022, investor confidence returned in late 2023, with $1.9 billion invested in crypto-related companies in the final quarter. The largest investment, $225 million, went to Wormhole, a cross-chain connectivity platform.

Future funding will likely focus on blockchain’s real-world applications and the infrastructure needed for them. Bitcoin miners have particularly benefited:

• Marathon Digital stock up 590%
• CleanSpark up 440%
• Riot Platforms up 350%

Cryptocurrency Regulations are on the way

The collapses of FTX and other firms highlighted the need for regulation in the crypto industry. The SEC has become the most active regulatory body, pushing for crypto firms to register and comply with disclosure requirements.

In 2023, the SEC sued Coinbase and Binance for regulatory violations, with Binance paying $4 billion in fines. Additionally, President Biden has proposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining.

As U.S. regulations tighten, some crypto companies are expanding internationally. Gemini is eyeing the UAE, and Coinbase has opened operations in Bermuda, both citing regulatory concerns.

Cryptocurrency’s Environmental Impact

Crypto mining, particularly Bitcoin’s Proof of Work process, has significant energy and environmental impacts. A single Bitcoin transaction uses as much energy as a U.S. household does in 26 days, with 67% of this energy coming from fossil fuels. This could hinder global climate goals.

And it’s not just electricity, mining crypto also requires an abundance of water.

In addition to being used for electricity generation, water is used to cool the computer systems and provide the right level of humidity for the machines. Bitcoin’s annual water consumption could be as high as 2,237 GL (gigaliters). That’s equal to the annual amount of water usage in Washington D.C.

To address these concerns, Ethereum’s 2022 upgrade, The Merge, reduced its energy consumption by 99% by shifting from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. However, Bitcoin is unlikely to adopt this model.

Real-World Assets are having Real-World impacts

Asset tokenization leverages blockchain technology to create digital representations of real-world assets, such as real estate and intellectual property. This can enhance automation, traceability, fractional ownership, and liquidity.

BlackRock launched its first tokenized asset fund, BUIDL, on the Ethereum blockchain in 2024, raising $240 million in its first week. Citigroup is also testing financial asset tokenization to enable 24/7 asset transfers and faster processing.

The tokenization market is expected to grow from $2.81 billion in 2023 to $9.82 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of nearly 20%.

The Emergence of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

Globally, central banks are developing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to create centralized digital currencies. Currently, 132 countries, representing 98% of the world’s GDP, are developing or testing CBDCs.

CBDCs are already operational in Jamaica, Nigeria, and the Bahamas, while China’s digital yuan is being tested in 25 cities. By 2030, the Bank of International Settlements predicts 15 retail and 9 wholesale CBDCs will be in use.

To facilitate cross-border CBDC transactions, SWIFT plans to launch a network connecting various CBDC platforms.

Summary of Cryptocurrency Trends

These are the top seven trends shaping the cryptocurrency industry today. The market has been highly unpredictable, with recent bull markets offering hope for future growth.

However, with increasing regulation and environmental concerns, the future of cryptocurrency remains uncertain.