The year 2024 has been a monumental one for Bitcoin. The official approval of spot ETFs, the once-every-four-years halving event, national strategic reserve declarations, and Bitcoin’s price surpassing the $100,000 mark for the first time—one groundbreaking event after another has continuously propelled Bitcoin’s popularity to new heights. Its transition from a fringe asset to a mainstream one signals its era is truly arriving.

This article takes you through Bitcoin’s most remarkable moments in 2024, using milestone events as reference points and objective data as the foundation to review its journey while looking ahead to the future.

The Year Bitcoin Went Mainstream: Spot ETF Approval

After a decade-long struggle, on January 10, 2024, the U.S. SEC officially approved 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs, which began trading on January 11. The issuers of these first Bitcoin ETFs include Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, iShares, Valkyrie, Ark 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, and Franklin.

Previously, the SEC had repeatedly rejected Bitcoin spot ETF applications, citing concerns over market manipulation and lack of regulation. This approval signals a gradual shift in the regulator’s stance on Bitcoin. More importantly, it marks a significant step toward mainstream financial integration for Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry. It provides institutional investors with a regulated avenue for direct Bitcoin exposure while enhancing market liquidity and adoption.

As of February 11, 2025, the latest data shows that ETFs currently in the market hold over 1.35 million BTC, with total assets valued at approximately $130 billion. According to The Block, the cumulative trading volume of Bitcoin spot ETFs—including BlackRock’s IBIT, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC), and Fidelity’s FBTC—had surpassed $642.75 billion by the end of last year.

Source: treasuries.bitbo.io

In April of the same year, the first Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, filed by the Hong Kong subsidiaries of China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, and Harvest Fund, also received official approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and began trading on April 30.

Undoubtedly, cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, are rapidly integrating into mainstream finance. More countries and regions are likely to follow suit in approving similar products, further driving the development of innovative crypto financial offerings.

The Fourth Halving Event

On April 20, 2024, Bitcoin experienced its fourth halving at block height 840,000, reducing miner rewards from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC. On the day of the halving, mining fees surged, and the total network mining revenue reached its highest daily value in nearly two years, at 1,667 BTC.

Source: explorer.coinex.com

Based on experience, Bitcoin has reached new price highs after every halving. From a supply and demand perspective, the reduction in supply caused by the halving increases Bitcoin’s scarcity, which in the long term helps drive price growth. As a result, the industry has similar expectations for this halving. Furthermore, Bitcoin halving directly impacts miner revenue, forcing miners to seek more efficient mining equipment and lower-cost energy supply regions, thus driving further specialization and centralization within the mining industry.

Data shows that although Bitcoin’s overall hash rate dropped slightly after the halving, it stabilized and rose again by the end of June, reaching new highs and peaking at 809.31 EH/s for the year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s network difficulty also continued to set new records, reaching an annual peak of 109.782 T at block 876,960 by the end of last year.

The Crypto Declaration in the Trump 2.0 Era

The U.S. presidential election concluded on November 6, 2024, and Donald Trump returned to the White House. His comeback marked the beginning of Bitcoin’s soaring trajectory.

Trump had previously criticized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies multiple times. However, during the 2024 election campaign, his stance shifted noticeably, and he began expressing support for Bitcoin. This was particularly evident in his keynote speech at the 2024 Nashville Bitcoin Conference, where he made several significant statements regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, including:

• He would immediately fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler upon taking office.
• He aimed to make the U.S. the global crypto capital and a Bitcoin superpower.
• He would ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) during his tenure.
• He promised to keep the 207,189 BTC held by the U.S. government and establish a national Bitcoin reserve.

A series of crypto-friendly commitments raised expectations across the industry, and the fervor around Bitcoin spread once again. Looking at his subsequent actions, it’s clear that Trump has been making moves to fulfill his promises. For example:

• SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, whose term was originally set to end in June 2026, left his position early on January 20, 2025.
• He appointed Elon Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX, to lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and reorganize the federal government.
• He granted clemency to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
• After his official inauguration, Trump immediately signed the first crypto executive order, “Strengthening America’s Leadership in Digital Financial Technologies,” outlining a clear regulatory framework for the crypto industry and appointing Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, who proposed the “Bitcoin Bill,” as Chair of the Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee.

Source: @realDonaldTrump

In addition to using his authority to support the crypto industry, Trump is also well aware of the power of celebrity influence. He deepened his involvement with the family crypto project WLFI (World Liberty Financial) and publicly purchased BTC, ETH, ENA, Ondo, and other cryptocurrencies multiple times. He even launched his own official meme coin, $TRUMP, which quickly went viral on global social media platforms. The total market cap FDV of $TRUMP token surpassed $70 billion within less than 48 hours of its launch.

The President’s move to issue a cryptocurrency was eye-opening. It’s likely to inspire more celebrities to follow suit and further expand the market influence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin Price Surpasses $100,000 for the First Time

With favorable conditions, Bitcoin’s once-every-four-years halving event arrived as expected. On December 5, Bitcoin’s price surpassed the important $100,000 mark for the first time and reached an annual peak of $108,000 within two weeks. Its market capitalization also grew from $0 to $2 trillion over 16 years and may one day surpass the market value of gold.

Source: theblock.co

As Bitcoin reached new price highs, its on-chain profitability ratio peaked at 99.69%. Throughout 2024, this figure remained strong, with the lowest value recorded at 72.28%, significantly higher than the profitability levels of altcoins. The strong upward momentum was also reflected in Bitcoin’s market capitalization share. Despite the surge in the number of altcoins, Bitcoin’s market dominance has steadily increased since November 2022, when it was at 36%. In 2024, it remained above 50%, reaching a peak of 60%.

Continued Expansion: Companies, Institutions, and Governments

With the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs, Bitcoin’s path to mainstream adoption and institutionalization has been accelerating, and its vast growth potential has prompted major companies, institutions, and governments to increase their involvement. Data shows that more than 120 entities globally, including publicly traded companies, private firms, ETFs, and countries, have publicly disclosed holdings of 3,036,964 BTC, which accounts for 14.46% of Bitcoin’s total supply, with a total value of approximately $291.2 billion.

Source: treasuries.bitbo.io

Among all companies, MicroStrategy leads with a holding of 478,740 BTC, valued at approximately $46 billion. In 2024 alone, it added over 250,000 BTC to its holdings. The average purchase price for Bitcoin was $65,033, and the current unrealized profit on its holdings is around $1.5 billion. At the end of 2024, MicroStrategy’s stock, MSTR, was included in the Nasdaq 100 index, becoming the first crypto-related stock to be added.

Other companies with significant BTC holdings include Block.one (140,000 BTC), Tether (83,758 BTC), mining companies Marathon (40,435 BTC) and Riot Platforms (18,221 BTC), and custodial bank Xapo (38,931 BTC).

In the past year, the trend of companies acquiring Bitcoin has intensified. For instance, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund (NBIM) has indirectly acquired 3,821 BTC, a 153% increase compared to the previous year. Australia’s AMP, a pension management company, also entered Bitcoin futures with an allocation of approximately 27 million AUD (around 17.2 million USD). These signs indicate that Bitcoin’s institutional adoption is accelerating, and more conservative institutions are expected to join the market in the future.

Global Regulatory Frameworks Gradually Improving

As Bitcoin transitions from an “alternative asset” to a “mainstream asset,” the global regulatory environment has become clearer. In 2024, several countries and regions made significant progress in crypto legislation and regulatory measures.

• United States: The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act” (FIT21) with overwhelming support. The bill addresses issues such as digital currencies, digital assets, crypto taxes, and crypto regulation, profoundly impacting the crypto industry.
• European Union: The “Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation” (MiCA) was officially implemented, providing a unified crypto regulatory framework for the entire EU. It clarifies rules for issuing crypto assets, stablecoins, and utility tokens, and regulates service providers such as exchanges and custodians.
• Russia: The country officially signed the digital currency taxation law, recognizing digital currencies as property and applying them to foreign trade payments under the EPR framework. Mining and selling digital currencies are exempt from VAT.
• Japan: The country’s financial regulators released a tax reform plan that may offer possibilities for reducing crypto asset taxation.
• Hong Kong: The “Stablecoin Bill” was submitted to the Legislative Council for its first reading. If passed, it will become law. The bill outlines detailed regulations for stablecoin issuers, including licensing, requirements, and marketing restrictions.

Overall, governments worldwide have become more open and proactive in their regulatory stance on the crypto industry, aiming to balance innovation, investor protection, and financial stability. At the same time, a clear and defined regulatory environment lays the foundation for the long-term healthy development of the crypto industry.

Technical Upgrades and Ecosystem Expansion

In addition to numerous external benefits, Bitcoin has made significant progress in technical upgrades and ecosystem expansion.

The dollar capacity in the Lightning Network payment channels continued to rise in 2024, surpassing $556 million by the end of the year, reflecting an approximately 180% increase compared to the beginning of the year. At the same time, the adoption of the Lightning

Network expanded, with even Trump’s campaign donations supporting this method. Furthermore, sidechains like Liquid Network and Layer 2 solutions like B² Network have seen notable development, offering users more scalability and functional choices.

Source: theblock.co

The improvement in Bitcoin’s network performance has led to more ecosystem applications, with the DeFi sector also beginning to emerge. According to DeFiLlama data, the total value of Bitcoin’s locked assets saw explosive growth in 2024, reaching $7.477 billion by the end of the year, nearly 24 times the value at the start of the year. Among them, Babylon, Lombard, and Solv protocols led regarding staking share.

Source: defillama.com

It is worth noting that the Bitcoin inscription narrative saw an explosive surge in the first quarter of 2024, even driving the prosperity of inscription ecosystems across various public blockchains. This new narrative explores Bitcoin’s technological upgrades, but the sector later lost momentum, fading away quickly. This again exposes the pain points of Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency industry, as the market urgently needs a new narrative, whether in technology or ecology.

Conclusion

Looking back at Bitcoin’s more than a decade of development, every step has been crucial, with 2024 marking the beginning of its mainstream ascent. Despite countless doubts along the way, those attempts to destroy it only made it stronger, and this resilience and vitality forged through adversity prove its value.

For Bitcoin believers, price fluctuations are but ripples; the true value lies in its decentralized vision. Bitcoin has overcome numerous hardships, and what awaits it is nothing less than an endless sea of stars.