CoinGecko noted in a report that Bitcoin’s fourth halving in 2024 marked the start of the cryptocurrency market’s fourth bull cycle, though “not in ways many had anticipated.”
CoinGecko pointed out that the web3 and digital assets market’s momentum was significantly driven by macroeconomic policy changes in Bitcoin’s 15th year, including the “approval of U.S. spot ETFs, central bank interest rate cuts, and Donald Trump’s re-election.”
These developments brought cryptocurrencies into the mainstream spotlight following the “collapse of FTX, with ETFs providing new channels for capital inflows.”
Bitcoin (BTC)) reached a record high of $108,135 on Dec 17, contributing to a new “all-time high for the total cryptocurrency market capitalization at $3.91 trillion.”
CoinGecko’s 2024 Crypto Industry Report covers everything from the crypto market landscape to analyzing Bitcoin and Ethereum, deep diving into the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystems, and reviewing “how centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) have performed.”
CoinGecko recapped the key highlights, which are intended to provide an overview of the latest crypto industry developments:
Total crypto market cap climbed “+45.7% ($1.07 trillion) to end 2024 Q4 at $3.40 trillion.”
While the market lost momentum in Q3, it managed “to find a local bottom, before rallying mid-Q4 following Donald Trump’s win in the US Presidential Elections.”
In 2024, total crypto market cap almost doubled, “increasing by +97.7%.”
It peaked at “$3.91 trillion in mid-December, before consolidating at $3.40 trillion.”
Meanwhile, the average trading volume in 2024 Q4 “stood at $200.7 billion, a +128.2% increase from Q3’s $88.0 billion.”
Bitcoin (BTC) continued to climb in dominance, “albeit at a slower rate, increasing +0.9% in 2024 Q4. It was XRP that saw the largest increase in Q4, climbing to 3.5% (+2.0%) in market share. This allowed it to jump from #7 to #4, overtaking BNB and Solana (SOL).”
Dogecoin (DOGE) was a new entrant “to the top #7 coins by market cap, having replaced USDC in Q4.”
This is the first time USDC has “not been in the Top 7 since April 2021.”
Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) continued to “see its market dominance drop throughout Q4, falling from 13.4% in Q3 to 11.8% in Q4.”
This marks the “lowest it’s been since April 2021.”
2024 Q4 was a landmark quarter for Bitcoin (BTC), as it “rallied past $100,000 for the first time on December 9.”
It reached a high of $108,135 before “retracing slightly to end the year at $93,508.”
This represents a “+121.5% increase from the start of the year.”
Bitcoin’s rally started from a Q3 low of $54,000, but it “saw another notable leg up after Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential elections.”
This was further bolstered “by the US Federal Reserve’s rate cuts and market expectations that monetary easing would continue into 2025.”
Meanwhile, average daily trading volume skyrocketed “from $31.1 billion in Q3 to $62.6 billion in Q4, an increase of +101.3% QoQ. Over $190.0 billion in spot volume was recorded on December 6 when Bitcoin broke above $100,000, marking a yearly high.”
Equities also saw strong returns in Q4, with “the NASDAQ rising +8.0%, followed by the S&P500 with a +3.0% climb.”
The US Dollar Index (DXY) also had “strong returns of +7.0%, driven by the decline of other major currencies.”
The Yen (JPY) had the largest loss in Q4, “falling -8.0%, erasing the gains from the unwinding of the Yen carry trade.”
AI agents took off as a category shortly after the “launch of GOAT on Solana in early October.”
Ethereum Layer 2s climbed throughout 2024 Q4, with “the top 10 Layer 2s reaching 15.0 million daily transactions on average.”
Transactions were mainly driven by Base, which “had a daily average of 7.2 million in Q4.”
This represents an increase of “+78.7% from Q3, when it had a daily average of 4.0 million. In comparison, Ethereum mainnet processed ~1.2 million daily transactions in Q4. 48.3% of transactions on the top 10 Layer 2s in Q4 were conducted on Base.”
In 2024 Q4, the top 10 centralized exchanges (CEXs) recorded “$6.5 trillion in spot trading volume.”
This represents an increase of “+111.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).”
This is the first time in which quarterly trading volumes “have broken the $6.0 trillion mark.”
The top 10 CEXs had a total volume “of $17.4 trillion throughout 2024, compared to $7.2 trillion in 2023.”
Binance remained the dominant spot CEX, “ending December with a 34.7% market share in the top 10.”
Notably, its trading volume climbed “above the $1 trillion mark in December, for the second time in 2024.”
Upbit was the “fastest-growing” CEX in Q4, with its volume “increasing +314.8% from $135.5 billion to $561.9 billion QoQ.”
Volume increased after martial law was “declared in South Korea on December 3.”
During that tumultuous period, daily volumes stood “at ~$21.0 billion, a six-fold increase from its daily average of $3.5 billion.”
Solana was the dominant chain for DEX trading in 2024 Q4, “with its market share rising above 30% for the quarter. It grew +152.0% in Q4, with trading volume of $219.2 billion.”
On the other hand, Ethereum’s trading volume stood “at $184.3 billion, with its dominance ranging between 25% – 28%.”
Ethereum still managed to edge out Solana on a yearly basis, “accounting for 33.5% of all DEX trading volume versus Solana’s 25.2%.”
Meanwhile, Base is now firmly ahead of Arbitrum, “overtaking it in Q4.”
CoinGecko further noted that its “market share rose above 14% in Q4, compared to Arbitrum’s 10% – 11%.”
The Coinbase-backed Layer 2 reached a high of “19.0% market share in December, with a growth rate of +206.5% QoQ. Its trading volume stood at $116.7 billion while Arbitrum’s stood at $79.2 billion.”
The CoinGecko report further revealed that Tron was the “fastest-growing chain in the top 10, with a QoQ growth rate of +232.7%.”
Its trading volume grew from “$2.9 billion in Q3 to $9.6 billion in Q4.”
In Dec 2024, it had a market share of “2.1%, making it the sixth largest.”