2024 has been a game-changing year for cryptocurrency, with market capitalization soaring by a staggering 96.2%, driven by strong gains in the first and fourth quarters. A pivotal moment in January was with the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, propelling market sentiment and attracting a fresh wave of capital. Favourable macro factors, including the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut and positive regulatory shifts post the U.S Presidential, further fuelled the surge.
This report serves as an essential resource for understanding the evolving crypto landscape and preparing for what’s ahead in 2025.
An eventful year for Bitcoin
Bitcoin dominated the spotlight, with ETFs contributing to an eye-popping $35B in net inflows and over $105B in total assets. The long-awaited $100K milestone for Bitcoin was finally breached in December, solidifying its dominance and fueling a 2,000%+ rise in DeFi TVL. As we look ahead, the growing maturity of the ETFs, the incoming Donald Trump administration and a growing Bitcoin ecosystem around Layer 2s (L2s), Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and more, are some factors that excite us.
Ethereum led the Alternative Layer 1 (alt-L1s)
Ethereum continued to lead the alt-L1s in metrics such as market cap, trading volume and DeFi TVL, while activity metrics like daily transactions and active addresses were dominated by Solana, offering the lowest average transaction fee. In 2025, the U.S. Ether ETFs, the potential for more dApps in launching their own chain, the Pectra Upgrade, and Ethereum’s prioritization dilemma are key stories to consider. Although Solana had significant strides in 2024, stablecoins on the chain remained relatively low. Their new upcoming client, Firedancer, network extensions (i.e., Solana L2s), and SVM stack chains are important stories to follow. BNB chain saw scalability progress with opBNB and data storage development with Greenfield. Sui outgrew Aptos, while Avalanche saw its largest update yet with Avalanche9000. Tron was strong in stablecoin transactions (although saw its position challenged). TON, which slowed in H2 2024, remains important to watch, alongside the launches of Berachain and Monad.
Token generation events
For L2s, 2024 was earmarked by a plethora of token generation events across both the optimistic and zero knowledge types, with over nine major L2 token launches taking place over the course of the year. It was, however, the Base L2 that stole the limelight in 2024. Despite its lack of a token, Base grew to capture 39% and 67% of the market in terms of total value locked (TVL) and daily active users respectively, making it the top L2 in both metrics. With many of the airdrop rewards now behind us, 2025 will tell which L2s can sustain user activity and capital without relying heavily on token incentives.
A robust recovery for Decentralised Finance (DeFi)
Driven by a substantial influx of capital that propelled total value locked up by 119.7% year-to-date (YTD) to US$119.3B, 2024 marked a robust recovery for DeFi. This resurgence has sparked a renaissance across DeFi sub-sectors, with core areas like Money Markets and Decentralized Exchanges (DEXes) reaching new milestones. 2024 saw the emergence of previously inaccessible on-chain financial primitives, the narrowing gap between DeFi and Centralised Exchange (CEX)-like experiences, increased adoption by both consumers and institutions and heightened protocol competition. Together, these developments are paving the way for DeFi to find product-market fit and deliver tangible impact in the real-world.
Remarkable growth for stablecoins
The stablecoins market experienced remarkable growth in 2024, reaching an all-time high market cap of US$205B and ended the year just slightly lower at US$204B, representing a 56.8% YoY increase. In 2025, stablecoins are poised to gain traction as yield-bearing assets.
Looking ahead, 2025 is set to build on this momentum. New ETF approvals, the growing maturity of Bitcoin’s ecosystem, AI’s deeper integration, and the expansion of Layer 2 solutions will drive the next wave of innovation. Additionally, the rise of yield-bearing stablecoins, along with further developments in the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems, will redefine crypto’s potential.
Also Read: Binance 2024 Anti-Scam Refund Initiative End of Year Report
