2024 Annual Crypto Industry Report
Bitcoin's fourth halving in 2024 marked the start of the cryptocurrency market's fourth bull cycle, though not in ways many had anticipated. The 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 reached a record high of $108,135 on December 17, contributing to a new all-time high for the total cryptocurrency market capitalization at $3.91 trillion.
Our comprehensive 2024 Annual 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.
We’ve summarized the key highlights, but be sure to dig into the full 53 slides below.
Top 7 Highlights of CoinGecko’s 2024 Annual Crypto Industry Report
- Total Crypto Market Cap Grew +45.7% in 2024 Q4, Ending the Quarter at $3.91T, +97.7% Over The Whole Year
- Bitcoin Increased Its Dominance, Now Accounting for 53.6% of the Total Crypto Market Cap
- Bitcoin Outperformed Major Asset Classes, Both in 2024 Overall and in Q4
- Market Cap of AI Agents Grew +322.2% in 2024 Q4, From $4.8B to $15.4B
- Transactions on Top 10 Ethereum Layer 2s Increased +48.3% in 2024 Q4, With Base Accounting for 48.3% of Transactions
- Spot Trading Volume on Centralized Exchanges Hit $6.45T in 2024 Q4, Up +111.7% QoQ, Marking a New All-Time High
- Solana Overtook Ethereum as the Dominant Chain for DEX Trading in 1024 Q4, Accounting for over 30% of All DEX Trades
1. Total Crypto Market Cap Grew +45.7% in 2024 Q4, Ending the Quarter at $3.91T
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.
2. Bitcoin Increased Its Dominance, Now Accounting for 53.6% of the Total Crypto Market Cap
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.
3. Bitcoin Outperformed Major Asset Classes, Both in 2024 Overall and in Q4
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.
4. Market Cap of AI Agents Grew +322.2% in 2024 Q4, From $4.8B to $15.5B
AI agents took off as a category shortly after the launch of GOAT on Solana in early October. The Terminal of Truths pioneered the AI agent KOL on the X archetype, although the narrative has largely fallen off. Nonetheless, the category has seen its market cap grow at an astounding rate of +322.2% in 2024 Q4, from $4.8 billion to $15.5 billion.
So far, there are only notable AI agents on the Solana and Base blockchains. In late 2024, Base notably took a large portion of the market share away from Solana and the pioneer GOAT with the likes of AIXBT and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL). However, Solana has been taking some market share back with the launch of GRIFFAIN and AI Rig Complex (ARC) in late December.
5. Transactions on the Top 10 Ethereum Layer 2s Increased +48.3% in 2024 Q4, With Base Accounting for 48.3% of Transactions
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.
Meanwhile, Taiko was the second most active Layer 2 during the same period, having overtaken Arbitrum. It accounted for 20.6% of all transactions in Q4, ahead of Arbitrum’s 13.7%. Taiko’s transactions grew by +85.5% QoQ, while Arbitrum’s only grew by +14.0%. Taiko’s large increase can be attributed to the launch of multiple DeFi protocols on the relatively new chain.
6. Spot Trading Volume on Centralized Exchanges Hit $6.45T in 2024 Q4, Up +111.7% QoQ, Marking a New High
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 dramatically 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.
7. Solana Overtook Ethereum as the Dominant Chain for DEX Trading, Accounting for over 30% of All Trades in 2024 Q4
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. 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.
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 December 2024, it had a market share of 2.1%, making it the sixth largest.
Read the Report: CoinGecko’s 2024 Annual Crypto Industry Report
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