2024 Crypto Market Review and 2025 Outlook

2024 is an important year in the history of cryptocurrency. The approval of the Bitcoin ETF and the U.S. elections have become the two core narratives driving breakthroughs in the crypto industry. Listed companies, traditional financial institutions, and even national governments are entering the market, significantly enhancing the mainstream acceptance and recognition of crypto assets. After the new government takes office, the regulatory environment is also developing towards a clearer and more relaxed direction. Mainstream integration, path differentiation, and regulatory evolution have become the main themes of the industry this year.

2024 Market Review

Bitcoin is undoubtedly the core focus of this year. The approval of ETFs and national reserve demand have driven the price of Bitcoin to break through $100,000, marking its official transcendence beyond the crypto market category to become a globally recognized anti-inflation asset. The Bitcoin ecosystem has also made significant progress, with the total value locked in DeFi skyrocketing from $300 million at the beginning of the year to $6.755 billion, an increase of over 20 times throughout the year.

Ethereum is facing significant challenges this year. Compared to other assets, Ethereum's value capture and user activity have declined, and its narrative strength is not what it used to be. Although the call for a DeFi revival is loud, actual investment is noticeably lacking. At the end of the year, the derivatives project Hyperliquid has emerged, bringing new vitality to DeFi. The Layer 2 ecosystem is rapidly developing, encroaching on the market share of the mainnet.

Solana has risen strongly, achieving exponential growth in both TVL and coin price. Its advantages of low cost and high efficiency have helped it become a hub for the MEME ecosystem. TON and SUI have also broken through this year, with the former relying on Telegram's large user base and the latter rapidly developing thanks to the advantages of the Move language.

From an application perspective, MEME has become a major driving force in the market this year. The connotation of MEME is constantly expanding, evolving from a purely speculative token to a representative of cultural finance. The infrastructure surrounding MEME is continuously improving, with the representative platform Pump.fun achieving a monthly revenue of over 100 million USD.

Affected by the US elections, the prediction market platform Polymarket has risen to prominence, becoming another star application this year. AI has risen again at the end of the year, with Truth Terminal driving a surge in a batch of AI Agent projects.

PayFi has become the key connection between traditional finance and Web3. Stablecoins hold a place in the global payment and remittance market, with a circulation scale exceeding $210 billion. RWA was ignited after BlackRock entered the market, expanding its market value to $14 billion.

2025 Market Outlook

Looking ahead to 2025, institutions generally hold an optimistic attitude. Multiple institutions expect the price of Bitcoin to reach $150,000 to $200,000, with some optimists even predicting $500,000. ETH is expected to reach $6,000 to $7,000, and SOL may rise to $500 to $750. The total market capitalization of crypto is expected to reach $7.5 to $8 trillion.

Stablecoins, tokenized assets, and AI are the areas of greatest interest to institutions. The settlement volume of stablecoins is expected to reach $300-450 billion. The value of tokenized securities is expected to exceed $50 billion. The combination of AI and encryption will deepen further, and the market value of AI-related tokens may grow more than five times.

On other aspects, the revival of DeFi, application chain and L2 integration, the popularization of ZK technology, the growth of DEPIN industry revenue, and the resurgence of NFTs are also key areas of interest for institutions.

For investors, the rise in the prices of mainstream coins in 2025 has become inevitable, especially with a series of positive developments expected in Q1. The altcoin market will continue to differentiate, with projects that are more compliant likely to attract more funding. Hot sectors such as DeFi, payments, and MEME are worth continuous attention. Directions favored by institutions such as stablecoins, AI, RWA, and DePin are also expected to accelerate development. A new cycle is about to arrive, and investors need to be keen to seize market opportunities and actively participate.