In the development history of the crypto industry, 2024 has left a significant mark. This year, we witnessed continuous breakthroughs in blockchain technology, a sustained surge in Bitcoin prices, and a gradually opening regulatory environment, leading to increasing mainstream recognition of cryptocurrency values. As 2024 comes to a close, the globally leading digital asset trading platform Huobi HTX has released its latest report “2024 Global Web3 Blockchain Ecosystem Review and 2025 Outlook”, comprehensively summarizing the significant events that have had a huge impact on the crypto industry this year and providing a forward-looking analysis of the development prospects for 2025.
Reviewing 2024: The Top 10 Events Changing the Crypto Industry
In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a historic decision to approve the listing of the first Bitcoin spot ETFs. This became a turning point for Bitcoin's approach to mainstream investment markets and reflected a loosening of the SEC's long-standing hardline stance on cryptocurrencies. The development tone for the entire crypto ecosystem was thus established for the year. Just six months later, Ethereum's spot ETF was officially approved by the SEC, marking a gradual shift towards a more open policy in the cryptocurrency sector; globally, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced in April the approval of Asia's first spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, further solidifying Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.
Also in April, Bitcoin experienced its fourth halving in history. Unlike previous halvings, the market was not filled with optimistic sentiment beforehand, with predictions of potential downturn risks following the halving. Ultimately, Bitcoin did not experience a significant drop after the halving but quickly rebounded after a period of volatility. This indicates that the long-term potential of Bitcoin is still widely recognized by the market, with more and more investors beginning to view Bitcoin as digital gold and a safe-haven asset.
Throughout 2024, Bitcoin's price experienced multiple large-scale fluctuations, many of which were related to actions taken by various governments. In July, the German government sold off all its Bitcoin holdings, missing out on over $2 billion in potential profits, sparking discussions in the market about digital currency management and strategy; in August, changes in the Bank of Japan's monetary policy caused massive market turbulence, triggering circuit breakers in the Japanese and South Korean stock markets, leading investors to flee the stock market for safety, which resulted in severe price fluctuations for Bitcoin and other digital assets; in September, the Federal Reserve initiated a rate-cutting cycle, marking a shift in the global market. These events indicate that the correlation between cryptocurrencies and the global macroeconomy is strengthening.
Trump was an unavoidable topic in 2024. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, Trump promised that if he were to be re-elected as President of the United States, he would designate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. In November, Trump won the election, becoming the first U.S. president to openly support cryptocurrency. His re-election brought significant benefits to the crypto industry, and under his political influence, Bitcoin prices continued to soar. On December 5, Bitcoin first broke through $100,000, setting a new high. This historic breakthrough not only highlighted Bitcoin's status as digital gold but also indicated that cryptocurrency, as a new asset class, is gradually changing the global financial landscape. Although Bitcoin's price has currently corrected, with Trump and the new SEC chairman set to take office soon, it is expected that crypto-friendly actions will be initiated quickly, and the market anticipates that the Federal Reserve will cut rates twice between February and May next year, potentially leading to a peak in the market. With policies gradually clarifying and the market maturing, Bitcoin's future prospects are becoming increasingly bright, and more investors and institutions are expected to join this investment wave, fully unleashing the potential of the cryptocurrency market.
Huobi HTX pointed out that 2024 is a key year for crypto assets to truly move towards the mainstream. As the global economy gradually recovers and crypto regulatory policies loosen, the integration of traditional finance and the digital asset market is becoming increasingly close, marking the growing maturity of the crypto industry, with more institutions beginning to recognize and invest in this sector. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin's nearly 140% increase this year is no coincidence, and such growth has sparked enthusiasm among global investors, providing strong momentum to boost the crypto market and bringing unprecedented opportunities.
Looking Ahead to 2025: Bitcoin as a Strategic Reserve is Worth Looking Forward To
The report suggests that as the global regulatory environment matures, innovations in blockchain technology will usher in a new round of explosions, with the rapid development of various infrastructures and innovative applications indicating that the crypto industry will welcome broader development opportunities. The next few years will be a critical period for the accelerated development of the crypto industry, continuous technological iterations, and widespread innovations.
Huobi HTX has focused on analyzing the crypto-friendly policies that may be brought about by Trump's administration. Two important bills, the FIT21 Act and the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act, are expected to pass more quickly under Trump's push. The former aims to provide a clear legal framework for token issuance and trading by classifying tokens into digital assets and digital commodities, transferring the regulation of many blockchain projects from the SEC to the CFTC, and introducing a safe harbor mechanism to promote the standardization and healthy development of the entire industry; the latter aligns with Trump's campaign promises, and if passed, it will mark Bitcoin's transition from a niche asset to a nationally recognized reserve asset, greatly enhancing its legitimacy and recognition, and may prompt other countries to take similar measures, further promoting Bitcoin's recognition and application globally.
Source: BiTBO
The Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act was submitted to Congress for review on August 4, 2024, and is under consideration by the Senate Banking Committee, while Trump has the conditions to push this bill through. Meanwhile, several states in the U.S. have also proposed their own Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Acts. Perhaps in 2025, Bitcoin's strategic reserve will become a reality.
Additionally, after Trump's inauguration, the SAB121 Act is likely to be repealed, allowing traditional financial institutions to hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets, further promoting the institutionalization of crypto assets and overall enhancing the maturity of the crypto market. The SEC's application standards for the Howey test are also likely to be relaxed, which will facilitate the approval of more cryptocurrency spot ETFs and allow more crypto companies to go public.
Huobi HTX's Various Businesses Progressing Together, Accelerating Global Compliance Strategy, Actively Laying Out Blockchain Ecosystem
For Huobi HTX, 2024 is a key year to walk alongside blockchain technology and an important moment to contribute to the decentralized economy. Over the past year, Huobi HTX has driven the development of the entire ecosystem through technological innovation, market expansion, and user growth on the platform, and has further promoted the prosperity of the Web3 ecosystem through strategic layout and investment.
In 2024, Huobi HTX's user growth momentum was strong, with cumulative registered users surpassing 49 million, including 3 million new users added in 2024 alone, and nearly 80 billion visits across both ends, showcasing the platform's strong appeal and user activity. In terms of trading volume, Huobi HTX's total trading volume for the year approached $2.4 trillion, a 100% increase quarter-on-quarter, with spot trading accounting for 62% and contract trading reaching $900 billion, demonstrating Huobi HTX's important position in the market.
In seizing opportunities in emerging sectors, Huobi HTX performed excellently, launching multiple quality assets and achieving outstanding results in areas such as MEME, RWA, and DeFi. Among the early-listed projects, there were several that achieved tens or even hundreds of times in growth, including WIF, BOME, NEIROCTO, and SUNDOG.
In terms of compliance and internationalization, Huobi HTX has continued to advance its global compliance strategy, actively cooperating with regulatory agencies in various countries to ensure the platform's legal operation in major markets. In 2024, Huobi HTX's compliance operations in the European market were further strengthened, and it is advancing its layout in the Middle East through Huobi Dubai.
Additionally, Huobi HTX's global investment department, HTX Ventures, has increased its investment in cutting-edge crypto projects across multiple fields, including DeFi, ZK-rollups, Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions, artificial intelligence, and GameFi. HTX Ventures has provided more resource support through partnerships with top venture capital firms, helping investment projects achieve market expansion and technological innovation. The successful launch of projects such as Babylon, Berachain, Monad, Avail, and Sophon demonstrates the strong innovative driving force of blockchain technology and its broad application prospects. The success of these projects has not only brought considerable returns to Huobi HTX but has also further promoted the development of the entire blockchain ecosystem.
Looking ahead to 2025, Huobi HTX will continue to deepen its global market presence, strengthen compliance operations and technological innovation, and strive to provide users with more diversified digital asset services. As the global regulatory environment matures and industry technologies continue to break through, the crypto industry will welcome more development opportunities in the coming years. Huobi HTX will continue to collaborate with major institutions and communities worldwide to promote the widespread application of crypto assets and occupy leading positions in various sub-sectors. We believe that 2025 will be a key year for Huobi HTX to embrace new opportunities in the industry, and it will also be a moment of comprehensive explosion for the global blockchain ecosystem.
About Huobi HTX
Huobi HTX was established in 2013 and has developed over 11 years from a cryptocurrency exchange into a comprehensive blockchain business ecosystem covering digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investment, incubation, and other businesses. As a globally leading Web3 portal, Huobi HTX adheres to a development strategy of global expansion, ecological prosperity, wealth effect, and security compliance, providing comprehensive, safe, and reliable value and services for virtual currency enthusiasts worldwide.
For more information about HTX, please visit HTX Square or https://www.htx.com/, and follow us on X, Telegram, and Discord. For further inquiries, please contact HTX@ruderfinn.com.
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