Bitcoin and ether had a decent start to 2025 with healthy trading volumes, but BTC and ETH remained largely rangebound with moderate gains. Meanwhile, the rally in AI agents tokens continued from where it left off in December, delivering significant double-digit and even triple-digit percentage gains in tokens such as AI16Z, VIRTUALS, and AIXBT. Given the relatively uneventful start to 2025, we take this opportunity to revisit some of the key highlights from the past year. Reflecting on 2024, we also recap the successes of its top performers.
2024 was a transformative year for crypto. From Bitcoin’s relentless climb fueled by the spot ETF launch in January to Solana’s impressive resurgence amid meme coin mania, and crypto’s decisive victory over SEC Chair Gensler’s “regulation by enforcement,” the year marked a turning point for the industry. Stablecoins staged a remarkable comeback in 2024. The circulating supply of USD-pegged stablecoins across issuers and blockchains hit new highs, exceeding $200 billion. This growth was driven by Tether’s (USDT) record $141 billion in December, surpassing the previous peak from April 2022 before the bear market and the collapses of ecosystems like Terra and FTX. Meanwhile, Circle’s USDC supply surged 80% from cyclical lows as on-chain activity picked up.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) experienced a significant uptick in total value locked (TVL) and activity following Donald Trump’s US electoral victory on November 5, fueled by expectations of a friendlier regulatory environment and pro-crypto policies. Uniswap solidified its dominance as the leading dApp, increasing its share on Ethereum by 28% compared to 2023. It also retained its position as the top DEX on many Layer 2s such as Base, reflecting a broader DeFi trend of “a winner-takes-most market,” favoring larger incumbents with deeper liquidity, advanced tech, and strong brand value. Similarly, net deposits on Aave reached $33.4 billion, marking a new all-time high for the leading DeFi lender, surpassing levels from the 2021 bull market.
In terms of new users, Coinbase’s Layer 2 Base emerged as the clear winner, with 13.7 million new users acquired, according to data by Flipside Crypto. This explosive growth was attributed to Coinbase’s extensive user base and Base’s focus on “trending sectors like memecoin trading and on-chain AI via new initiatives like Based Agents.” Among meme coins, Dogecoin (DOGE) had a standout year. The top meme token surged to a three-year-high price and even lent its name to a US extra-governmental initiative. Positive sentiment was bolstered by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE memes. Among other large meme coins, Pepe posted even stronger performance, reaching a new all-time high in December. Starting the year with a market cap of $591 million, PEPE soared to $9.4 billion by December 17 – a staggering 1,492% increase. In other altcoins, standout performers included SUI (+405% in 2024), XRP (+230%), and HBAR (+200%), all significantly outperforming BTC’s 121% yearly gain. NFTs proved they are far from dead, ending the year on a high in December. While 2024 started slow for NFTs, overall sales volume reached $8.8 billion, slightly surpassing the previous year, according to data by CryptoSlam.
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy went all in on Bitcoin, starting the year with shares trading below $70 and closing December at $386 – a 464% increase, outperforming all other Nasdaq stocks, including Nvidia. However, the stock is now down 45% from its recent peak following its Nasdaq-100 inclusion announcement. Last but not least, US spot Bitcoin ETFs had a stellar first year, amassing nearly $110 billion in net assets and generating over $3.2 trillion in total trading volume. BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack, with $54 billion in assets, though it saw $332 million in net outflows on Thursday, marking its largest daily negative flow since launch. Meanwhile, US spot ETH ETFs have accumulated $12.5 billion in net assets, with December recording their largest monthly net inflows at over $2 billion. The possibility of a staking ETF in the future, offering yield-generating opportunities, could be highly attractive to investors and lead to continued growth.
Looking ahead, many analysts and traders expect ETH to outperform BTC and SOL in 2025, in part due to its underperformance so far in the current cycle and ongoing spot ETF growth, while the rally in meme coins and AI tokens is likely to continue throughout the year. Altcoins are expected to remain in focus as BTC dominance may decline if the cycle unfolds as predicted. Core themes for 2025 include the growing role of institutions and wealth managers in crypto, the likely new direction of the SEC under Paul Atkins, and the possibility of comprehensive US crypto regulation, which could act as a rally catalyst. Potential US crypto IPOs, such as those of Circle and Kraken, and the continued growth of real world assets (RWA) and tokenization volumes, are also poised to take center stage.
Market Overview
The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to roughly $3.61 trillion – up from the $3.46 trillion last week, with bitcoin accounting for 53%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, Stellar (XLM) outperformed, gaining 28% over the week. The price of bitcoin (BTC) gained 3.2% to $97,412 while the price of ether (ETH) increased by 7.7% to $3,577. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi is sitting at $124.5 billion, with Ethereum (excluding Layer 2s) accounting for about 54.5% of TVL. Arbitrum One remains the largest Layer 2 by value locked, accounting for about 32% of the $57 billion in assets.
This Week’s Headlines
- Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon pleads not guilty to US fraud charges in Manhattan court following extradition, Reuters reports
- Industry groups sue to stop IRS from collecting user info from DeFi front-ends
- Donald Trump appoints Bo Hines, Stephen Miran, and Sriram Krishnan as advisors for digital assets, economy, and AI
- Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade explores offering crypto trading
- Tether’s USDT experiences almost $2 billion market capitalization drop amid MiCA full implementation
- Tether, Tron and TRM Labs help freeze $126 million in USDT linked to crime
- Malaysia orders Bybit to halt local operations over registration failure
- MicroStrategy buys another $201 million worth of bitcoin, adding BTC for eighth consecutive week
Notable Deals and Fundraising
- Crypto brokerage FalconX acquires derivatives startup Arbelos Markets
- ZK-powered crypto credit analytics startup Accountable raises $2.3 million seed round
