December 2024 Crypto Market Talk: From Frenzy to Solitude and Back

Less than ten days left before entering 2025. In the crypto world, each day condenses a year's worth of ups and downs in traditional markets. Only those who are truly involved can appreciate how quickly time passes; the stories at the start of the year now feel like events from three years ago.

What did you earn this year? How many opportunities did you seize, or were you “educated” by the market a few times? Are the coins you all-in'd at the beginning of the year still around? Which month did your “top” stories happen? Many answers have become blurry. The memory of the crypto market is astonishingly short; hot topics from three months ago are now forgotten, and confidently held judgments are too embarrassing to mention again.

We have organized a complete overview of the market evolution throughout the year, restoring what happened by month: where the trends were at each time, which coins were rising, and what the market was discussing. This is not prediction, not evaluation, just a review of all the changes we experienced together this year.

January: The Shine of AI Agents and the Carnival of Political Narratives

Keywords: AI Agent, political meme coins, market optimism, cold wind at month-end

January's absolute protagonist was the AI agent concept. AI16Z hit a historical high on January 2nd, reaching $2.47, with a market cap surpassing $2.5 billion, becoming the first AI token on Solana to reach this milestone. Names like AIXBT, ARC, ZEREBRO, GRIFFAIN frequently appeared in discussions.

Political meme coins were equally hot. On January 17th, an official political token was launched, soaring from below $1 to a record high of $75 within two days, with a market cap exceeding $14 billion. This was the first time in crypto that a token issued directly by high-level political figures caused such shock. Meanwhile, XRP rose 50% on news of political-related cooperation, sparking speculation about its potential to be among the first approved spot ETFs.

On the macro front, an executive order issued on January 23rd announced the formation of a digital assets working group, promoting national-level crypto reserve research, and banning central bank digital currencies. Overall market sentiment was extremely optimistic.

However, the mood shifted abruptly at month-end. The emergence of a cheap AI model in mid-January directly impacted the AI Agent story in crypto. Once hot agent coins quickly lost appeal; many projects that surged weeks earlier returned close to their issuance prices within subsequent weeks.

February: Trust Crisis and Market Cleansing

Keywords: Major security incidents, political coin collapse, meme coin cleanup, market adjustment

February marked the beginning of confidence collapse. On February 21st, a massive transfer of about 400,000 ETH occurred, valued at $1.5 billion, surpassing most past exchange risk events. This was the industry's “worst” incident to date.

Meanwhile, the myth of political meme coins was shattered. On February 14th, a token issued by a political figure of a certain country surged from low levels to $5 within 40 minutes, with a market cap of $4.5 billion, but then plummeted 85% within hours, causing over $250 million in losses for about 40,000 investors. The politician then deleted related content and denied involvement, and other related tokens also declined.

The market plunged into panic. Between February 24th and 27th, Bitcoin experienced its worst performance since major events in 2022, dropping over 12% in three days, with about $3 billion in leveraged positions liquidated. The meme coin sector was halved, and Solana ecosystem assets outflowed 30%, hitting lows not seen since November last year.

There were exceptions: a distributed computing network project launched its mainnet on February 20th, with the token soaring to $2.98, sparking discussions about “the last money grab.”

March: Policy Support vs. Market Anxiety

Keywords: National strategic reserves, trade concerns, meme coin restructuring, institutional accumulation

March saw initial signs of policy support. A political figure announced plans on Truthsocial to include Ripple, Solana, and Cardano into the national digital asset reserves. The news caused ADA to rise 70% in a single day, breaking the $1 barrier. The market once believed that regulatory attitudes had fully shifted.

But friendly policies did not save the market. Concerns over escalating trade frictions triggered a sell-off in risk assets. The meme coin sector collapsed collectively, with declines of 40-60%. Interestingly, a project on a certain chain quickly became a safe haven, with trading volume surpassing mainstream public chains.

Another crisis occurred on a decentralized derivatives platform, where a complex manipulation event threatened a $12 million potential loss. The platform used token governance to address the crisis—freezing certain assets, forced liquidations—prompting deep reflection on the definition of “decentralization.”

Offline, a US-listed company continued increasing Bitcoin holdings, announcing a $500 million preferred stock issuance dedicated to BTC purchases, showing institutional confidence remains firm.

April: Gentle Recovery and Psychological Healing

Keywords: Trade tensions easing, derivatives tools improving, sentiment reversal, ecosystem divergence

April was a month of psychological recovery. On April 9th, the easing of trade tensions was announced, leading to the largest single-day rally in the S&P 500 since 2008; on the same day, a regulatory agency approved Ethereum options products, expanding institutional tools. The new regulatory head’s positive attitude also boosted market confidence.

Crypto markets began to revive. Bitcoin rebounded from $76,000 and broke $90,000 by month-end. A country launched the first Solana spot ETF, the first in the world. The Sui ecosystem surged over 50% on expectations of collaboration with payment giants.

Meme coins also regained vitality. A meme coin soared hundreds of times from its bottom, becoming a recovery leader; celebrity-related tokens increased thousands of times. After two months of bottoming out, the market finally heard the voice of “we are back.”

May: A Prosperous Month of Multi-Faceted Growth

Keywords: Successful trade negotiations, major coins breaking through, ecosystem innovation, social finance rise

May was the most exciting month of the year. On May 2nd, a breakthrough in trade negotiations occurred, quickly restoring risk appetite. On May 7th, Ethereum completed its largest upgrade since the merge, with a 44% increase in May, signaling a warming market sentiment.

Bitcoin broke $110,000 to reach new highs, with record $1.2 billion in spot ETF inflows in a single day. The entire crypto market began to explode in multiple directions:

On-chain innovations emerged continuously. A social platform introduced a one-click token issuance feature by mentioning @projectname, which caused the platform’s token to skyrocket within a month. A new wave of AI agent launches, with a related platform releasing a launch tool, saw tokens rise 60%. Social points reward mechanisms innovated, with a project’s token soaring 190%, and “airdrop farming” gradually becoming a mainstream investment strategy.

A decentralized derivatives platform’s token increased 75%, and Chinese communities began discussing its unique operation mode and yield generation capabilities. Ethereum staking reached a record high.

Everything seemed to come alive again.

June: Infrastructure Commercialization Breakthrough

Keywords: Stablecoin issuer IPO, record fundraising, tokenization expansion, institutional DAT enthusiasm

June saw a complete explosion of the stablecoin story. On June 5th, a stablecoin issuer listed on the NYSE, with an IPO price of $31, oversubscribed 25 times. On June 23rd, its stock hit nearly $300, up almost 9 times. This was a shining moment for crypto-native companies in the US, symbolizing traditional capital’s recognition of stablecoins.

Four days later, even more explosive fundraising occurred. A new stablecoin project raised $500 million in a community funding platform within five minutes, pushing the total to a $1 billion cap, sold out in 30 minutes. Tether’s CEO, prominent investors, and exchange giants were early supporters. The frenzy around “stablecoin infrastructure” exceeded all expectations.

The narrative of digital asset reserves (DAT) continued to evolve. A listed company increased holdings, buying 1,088 BTC in a month; another claimed to have secured a $5 billion credit line dedicated to SOL purchases, calling itself the “MicroStrategy of the SOL era.” A gaming company increased holdings to 188,000 ETH.

At month’s end, a new category quietly launched: tokenized US stocks. Over 60 tokenized products of US stocks, including tech giants and chip manufacturers, were launched on Solana for trading.

Derivatives leaders continued to lead, with Ethereum staking reaching new highs. Meme coins also had highlights, with one coin soaring; some “useless” tokens increased 2000%.

July: Regulatory Frameworks and Coin Price Soaring

Keywords: Stablecoin bill signed, BTC/ETH breakthroughs, tokenization acceleration, NFT innovation

On July 18th, the first federal stablecoin management framework in US history was signed into effect. Bitcoin exceeded expectations, breaking $120,000 on July 14th and reaching a new high of $3848 on July 21st, with record $1.2 billion ETF inflows in a single day. ETH hit its yearly high of $3848 on July 21st.

The wave of tokenization accelerated. An American broker launched over 200 US stock tokenization products on its blockchain, including private company shares. A related marine biology token submitted an ETF application, potentially becoming the first ETF containing NFTs.

The stablecoin ecosystem war ignited. Two major exchange-backed stablecoin projects announced development plans, competing with other solutions. The fight for “on-chain stablecoins” heated up.

In meme coins, one SPX token surged over 100%; established stablecoin-related projects increased 160%. The market continued to improve.

August: Exchange Tokens Reign Supreme

Keywords: Exchange coins explode, data services go on-chain, social finance revival, celebrity drama

Although Bitcoin fluctuated between $108,000 and $124,000 in August, the altcoin market was extremely active, especially exchange ecosystem tokens, which became the biggest winners.

On August 13th, a certain exchange announced a burn of 65.25 million platform tokens, reducing the total supply from 300 million to 21 million. It also announced an upgrade to its application chain. This caused the platform token to surge 170% in one day to $148, then continued upward to $255, nearly quadrupling from the bottom.

Another exchange’s platform token also received positive news, as it would be used for trading fee settlements. A RWA-related token gained new utility.

On August 28th, the US Department of Commerce announced cooperation with a certain data oracle and another data service provider to bring macroeconomic data like GDP and PCE on-chain. This boosted related tokens by over 60%, with another token soaring 70% in a single day.

Hong Kong officially implemented a stablecoin management framework, with many companies preparing applications.

Celebrity token drama continued. On August 21st, a US rapper issued a token that surged 1400% to $3 within an hour, with a market cap reaching $3 billion, then plummeted 80% to near zero. The artist claimed his account was hacked, and the token was fake. The truth was hard to verify, adding another meme coin warning.

Social finance platforms surged over 100% thanks to a creator token wave from a major app. A meme coin’s platform reactivation brought in $46 million in a month, reclaiming dominance in the Solana ecosystem.

September: Rate Cut Expectations and Clearer Coin Differentiation

Keywords: Central bank rate cut, accelerated crypto IPOs, DEX wars, AI payment protocols

On September 17th, the central bank announced a 25 basis point rate cut, the first this year. In the same month, a stablecoin company completed a $50 billion funding round; although not directly related to retail investors, its co-founder launched a new stablecoin project on exchange alpha, which surged 455% in a single day, increasing 44,000 times from the bottom to a $1 billion market cap.

Crypto companies went public intensively. On September 11th, a RWA-related company listed on NASDAQ as the “first RWA stock”; the next day, another announced a listing. Wall Street’s attitude toward crypto was increasingly positive.

DEX wars heated up. A new contract platform exploded in popularity, with its token surging 2800% in a week, and its 7-day trading volume surpassing previous leaders. New tokens emerged rapidly; one increased 160% through active buyback mechanisms (over $95 million repurchased), another rose 660% within a week after listing on two major exchanges.

BNB benefited from the expansion of an institutional asset management platform, rising 19.7%. A RWA token also increased 130% due to exchange ecosystem integration.

AI payment concept launched. Coinbase’s infrastructure protocol enabled AI agents to automatically pay service fees, with related tokens rising from zero to $70 million in market cap, but the hype quickly cooled down.

October: Breaking the “Golden September and Silver October” Tradition

Keywords: Historic liquidations, market confidence collapse, Meme coin shadows

October, usually a rising period, became a watershed. A Chinese meme coin launched on October 4th, themed around “living, driving, and enjoying life on this platform,” hitting the community’s psychology, reaching $500 million in market cap in five days, up over 3000%.

October had never seen a decline in seven years, but 2025 broke this curse. Bitcoin hit a new high of $126,000 at the start of the month, but on October 11th, a historic liquidation event occurred. $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated within 24 hours, setting a single-day liquidation record. From then on, the market and liquidity spiraled downward.

November: Oversold and Divergence of Risk Assets

Keywords: BTC dips below 80K, ecosystem coins defy trend, privacy coins surge, regulation tightens

November’s pessimism exceeded expectations. BTC fell from $110,000 to $80,000, a seven-month low. Total market cap evaporated from $42 trillion to $32 trillion, approaching $10 trillion. A well-known Bitcoin fund saw outflows of $2.34 billion in November, the largest monthly outflow ever.

Privacy-related coins surged against the trend. One privacy coin soared from $40 in September to over $600 in November, up over 1200%. Another privacy coin rose from $20 to $136, a sixfold increase.

AI payment concepts briefly revived; a related protocol’s token ecosystem launched from zero to $70 million but quickly cooled.

Digital asset reserve companies faced difficulties. A listed company declined 36% in a month, another considered delisting; companies holding ETH and SOL also declined sharply.

Nearly 190,000 BTC were confiscated due to criminal cases, raising concerns about potential sell-offs and reinforcing stereotypes of “crypto = money laundering.”

December: Silence and Waiting

Keywords: Bear market silence, drama spreading, market pause

December had no stories, only emotions. No new hotspots, no astonishing gains. Discussions shifted from price levels to drama: who ran away, who misused funds, who was unfairly allocated.

This is called the “silent bear market.” It silently saps everyone’s enthusiasm. The only consensus: waiting. Waiting for liquidity to return.

We are about to enter 2026. The crypto world’s future is uncertain, but we are still on the road. Hope the new year will be kinder to everyone.