Bitcoin Year In Review: A Tale Of ETFs, Bloodbaths, Politics, And $100K

Bitcoin has gone through it all in 2024 – the bad, the ugly, and the good. It had multiple highs and several lows that ultimately cemented its place at the highest peak of the crypto realm.

BTC has plunged significantly from its highs above $100,000, but it remains completely unchallenged even with Ethereum gaining some traction overnight.

Even as some altcoins outperformed the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, none can yet challenge Bitcoin supremacy. These are BTC's 2024 highs and lows.

Bitcoin ETFs – A 10-Year Journey to Regulatory Approval

A decade after the first move in the crypto space for a spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally gave the thumbs up, triggering one of the most significant bull runs in crypto history.

The approval was the catalyst of a spike in BTC prices, but Bitcoin didn't leave its peers alone, also pulling up altcoins and major memecoins to a rally.

For nine years, spot BTC ETFs were like a dream. However, things took a huge turn in mid-2023, when asset management giant BlackRock applied for its own Bitcoin ETF, signaling growing trust among traditional financial firms in Bitcoin's potential.

Since then, Bitcoin ETFs have become a vehicle for exposure to the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency but with regulatory guardrails. BlackRock's IBIT is the leader in the segment, followed by Fidelity's FBTC.

The Halving – A Catalyst for New Lows

Bitcoin's halving, a once-every-four-years event that splits the digital coin's mining rewards in half and effectively cuts supply, also took place in 2024.

It was one long-time Bitcoiners were always aware of, but newbie holders were shocked to experience. Ahead of the halving, BTC prices hit new all-time highs, but the price movements that unraveled in the weeks and several months that followed really shook new holders to the core.

At times, Bitcoin plunged to unprecedented lows and at times, many newer crypto holders doubted whether there was still a bull run coming.

Mid-Year Bloodbaths – An Unprecedented Plunge

Early in August, the broader crypto market suffered a significant plunge as global financial markets were troubled by geopolitical issues, defunct MtGox continued its BTC distribution spree, and fears of a U.S. recession surged.

Within less than a day, BTC prices bled some $6,000, marking an 11% dive from its earlier price at around $60,000.

Ethereum (ETH), the world's second-largest crypto asset, was hit harder, bleeding 22% and triggering a similar bloodbath among other altcoins and meme tokens.

Despite the market crash, BTC gradually picked up the pieces and held steadier in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. elections.

Politicians Jump into the Bitcoin Space

Politics played a major role in BTC's surge to $100,000. After President-elect Donald Trump first signaled a change of heart late last year, a number of Republicans also started talking about getting orange-pilled.

Trump graced the Bitcoin 2024 conference alongside his ally, Sen. Cynthia Lummis. The two political leaders made promises to the BTC community, including a push for pro-innovation policies and a pathway toward establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve similar to that of El Salvador.

By mid-year, a few Democrats pivoted toward the crypto space, calling out the SEC under outgoing Chair Gary Gensler and its hostility toward digital assets.

In the last few weeks before the elections, a sizeable number of Republican politicians were largely vocal about their support for crypto and a growing number of Democrats signaled support for better regulations.

An All-Time High for the Ages

Days after Trump won the election, Bitcoin finally breached $100,000 for the first time, triggering a broader crypto market uptrend that the community celebrated for several days.

Later, BTC broke multiple consecutive all-time highs to trade above $108,000. It also became the first digital currency to join big tech giants Amazon and Google in assets with a $2 trillion market value.

Bitcoin has had a rollercoaster 2024, but through it all, the world's top digital asset retained its place on top of the rankings. It hasn't let the crown go since pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block early in 2009.

The crypto asset has gone from just a niche token for a very few early users to a widely-used digital currency that's on the brink of mass adoption. This year, Bitcoin made history, and Bitcoiners project that the world isn't even ready for what's to come in 2025 and beyond.