As 2024 comes to a close, it’s hard to ignore how eventful the year has been for Bitcoin. From record-breaking prices to major global events shaping adoption, Bitcoin performed grand this year, yet both thrilling and volatile. Here are our highlights of Bitcoin in 2024!
A Breakthrough Year for Bitcoin ETFs
The year kicked off with a major milestone: Bitcoin ETFs launched in January, and adoption surged throughout the year. Notably, Morgan Stanley began proactively offering Bitcoin ETFs to its clients in August, signaling a shift among traditional financial institutions toward embracing Bitcoin. By mid December, billions of dollars flowed into these funds week after week, with total Bitcoin holdings of all U.S. Bitcoin ETFs now accounting to roughly 5.5% of the entire Bitcoin supply of 21 million. BlackRock’s IBIT funds is the larges holding around 2.8% of total BTC.
Bitcoin Hits $100,000
Bitcoin crossed the long-anticipated $100,000 mark in November, an achievement celebrated by the entire crypto community. In the weeks following, Bitcoin kept recording ever so better highs to as high as $108,300. Some analysts argue this milestone is just the beginning, with even higher targets in sight as adoption grows and institutional interest deepens.
Volatility Remains a Key Theme
Despite the ups there were also some downs this year for Bitcoin to overcome. In July, the Bank of Japan’s surprise interest rate hike sent Bitcoin plunging below $50,000, underscoring how global economic decisions can dramatically impact the crypto market.
In September however, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates, and Bitcoin jumped to $62,000, proving its sensitivity to macroeconomic shifts. And from that moment onwards, Bitcoin kept continuing its momentum
Adoption Grows Across the Globe
El Salvador and Bhutan continued to expand their Bitcoin reserves, while Germany faced criticism for selling its Bitcoin holdings too early, potentially missing out on billions in gains. In the UK, a major pension fund allocated 3% of its portfolio to Bitcoin, signaling growing confidence in the cryptocurrency’s long-term potential. A stance only strengthened by BlackRock’s crypto director saying that Bitcoin isn’t a risk-on asset.
Corporate Investments Keep Rolling
MicroStrategy remained a key player in Bitcoin’s adoption story, continuing to add Bitcoin to its treasury. The company’s co-founder, Michael Saylor, even shared his “21 Rules of Bitcoin,” which became a must-read for anyone interested in Bitcoin. MicroStrategy now owns 402,100 Bitcoin worth around $38 billion at time of writing, and they won’t stop buying Bitcoin in 2025!
Other firms followed suit, with Japan’s largest energy provider converting excess energy into Bitcoin and Metaplanet investing another billion yen in the cryptocurrency. Even Chinese company SOS Limited made a significant $50 million investment.
Trump, Nashville, and Bitcoin 2024
Perhaps the most defining moment for Bitcoin this year was the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Shortly after his victory, Bitcoin soared to new all-time highs. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville in October, Trump made headlines with his remarks about potentially creating a U.S. Bitcoin reserve added fuel to the ongoing debate about Bitcoin’s role in national strategies. Trump also paid for a hamburger in Bitcoin in a New York restaurant and was thereby the first ex-president to ever do so.
Pop Culture and Bitcoin
Bitcoin made waves beyond finance this year. A new documentary claimed to reveal the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, sparking fresh debate about the cryptocurrency’s origins. Even Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen joined the conversation, sharing his own stories about close encounters with Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, who visited him in his dreams. So tell us Scotty, who is the real Satoshi Nakamoto?
Challenges and Setbacks
The Mt. Gox repayments and the introduction of Google’s quantum chip posed challenges and uncertainties for the Bitcoin ecosystem this year and in the coming years, although Bitcoiners do not have to fear quantum computing for the foreseeable future.
Closing Out the Year
With countries like Argentina considering embracing Bitcoin similar to El Salvador, and continued institutional interest, the future looks promising. The year ended on a high note, with September, October, and November all finishing in the green and December could potentially do the same, setting a positive tone for the year ahead. With 2025 just a few days away, we surely are excited of what’s to come, with many reports predicting further price growth and adoption among nation-states and institutions alike.
Keep following us at HowToBuyBitcoin.org for the latest news and developments on Bitcoin, also in 2025! We wish you all a Happy New Year!