Author: Zoltan Vardai, CoinTelegraph; Compiled by Wuzhu, Jinse Finance
The historic rise of Bitcoin to the $100,000 milestone, with many major cryptocurrency stories occurring this year, further legitimizing the industry's position.
This year's events have brought revival to many well-known crypto projects that have faced difficulties, including Ripple Labs, which achieved a major legal victory in the US SEC's bullish growth forecast.
In addition to setting new highs, in 2024, some of the world's largest institutions (such as BlackRock) have rekindled their interest in blockchain, launching various cryptocurrency-based products.
Furthermore, the victory of President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 election boosted investors' interest in risky assets like cryptocurrencies, as the improved environment is expected to bring more regulatory transparency, especially for tokens like XRP.
Ripple Labs and the XRP token will triumph in 2024
Despite over four years of regulatory battles between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the XRP token has proven its resilience among a strong holder community.
XRP and BTC, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph
Over the past year, the XRP token has risen by over 251%, more than double the 117% return of Bitcoin. Cryptobubbles data shows this makes XRP the second-best performing currency among the top 10 cryptocurrencies.
Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Source: Cryptobubbles
Alvin Kan, Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, stated that in addition to the financial returns of the XRP token, Ripple Labs also achieved some milestones in the past year.
He pointed out:
"In 2024, Ripple and XRP will become important milestones in the cryptocurrency field. After overcoming legal challenges, Ripple has consolidated its position in the cross-border payment sector, collaborating with over 300 financial institutions and reaching a market cap of over $30 billion."
Ripple achieved a major legal victory in July 2023 when a federal judge ruled that XRP is not a security, involving the programmatic sale of digital asset exchanges.
This marks a significant victory for Ripple, as the SEC's lawsuit had sought to force Ripple to stop offering its XRP token, on the premise that it is a security and therefore requires additional regulation.
However, the SEC also achieved its own victory, as the federal judge ruled that XRP was a security when sold to institutional investors, as it met the criteria set out in the Howey test.
The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020. In August 2024, a judge ruled the company should pay a $125 million civil penalty. The commission appealed the ruling, and Ripple filed a cross-appeal, leaving the civil case ongoing at the time of publication.
On October 16, the SEC filed a Type C civil appeal, requesting the court to review its decisions regarding Ripple's sales of XRP on exchanges and the personal XRP sales of CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen.
The upcoming inauguration of President Trump, and his choice of SEC Chair Paul Atkins, has reignited investors' hopes that the SEC may drop its legal action against Ripple Labs under a more innovation-friendly crypto regulation.
Memecoin Revival: 1,600% PEPE and 1,400% WIF Surges Attract More Retail Investors
Memecoins have also seen a significant revival, becoming some of the best-performing cryptocurrencies this year, creating new crypto millionaires in the process.
Top cryptocurrencies so far this year.
So far this year, the Dogwifhat meme token based on Solana has surged over 1,273%, making it the second-best performing token among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Next is Pepe, up 1,229%, ranking third.
PEPE and WIF, 1-year chart.
On December 14, it was reported that a savvy memecoin trader benefited from the Pepe rebound, turning a $27 investment into $52 million after holding the tokens for 600 days.
Writer and inter-governmental blockchain expert Andy Lian stated that while 2024 was revolutionary for the entire crypto industry, memecoins were a significant development.
"Memecoins are often seen as speculative and boring, but in 2024 they found new relevance by integrating humor, culture, and financial innovation. Tokens like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Neiro have gained attention, with Dogecoin even influencing US politics by being appointed as the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) by Elon Musk."
Lian added that memecoins have proven the potential of community-driven projects.
Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Research, wrote that some crypto traders view Pepe as this cycle's Dogecoin, which has also gained attention due to Musk's continued social posts:
"Dogecoin may see a breakthrough, as Elon Musk's continued influence has made Dogecoin a focus of attention, often triggering price surges. The positive sentiment in the broader cryptocurrency market, especially Memecoins, provides additional momentum."
An excerpt of Donald Trump's DOGE statement shared by Elon Musk on X.
On November 27, Dogecoin surpassed Porsche's market cap after Musk's involvement in creating the new Department of Government Efficiency, further fueling public interest.
RWA Tokenization Poised for Trillions in Growth by 2030
The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization space has also seen major developments, thanks to its promise to bring traditional finance onto the chain, creating more liquidity and accessibility for investment products.
RWA tokenization refers to the minting of financial and other tangible assets on an immutable blockchain ledger, increasing investors' accessibility and trading opportunities for these assets.
Edwin Mata, co-founder and CEO of Brickken, pointed out that the launch of BlackRock's BUIDL digital liquidity fund on Ethereum was a pivotal moment in the RWA tokenization space:
"BlackRock launching BUIDL on Ethereum was a defining moment, showcasing how blockchain can provide real, tangible value to the financial world. This is not just a technical experiment - it has restored the credibility and trust in the blockchain ecosystem."
BlackRock's tokenized government bond fund has a market value of over $500 million, becoming the first fund to reach this milestone in July 2024.
BlackRock's BUIDL surpassed Franklin Online US Government Money Fund (BENJI) at the end of April to become the world's largest tokenized government bond fund, less than six weeks after its launch on March 15. BUIDL has held the top spot since then.
BUIDL is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and pays daily accrued dividends directly to investors through a partnership with the real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize.
Tokenized funds bring more transparency, liquidity, and accessibility to trusted financial products, Mata added:
"The cryptocurrency industry has faced criticism for its speculative nature and lack of integration with the traditional financial system. The world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, has demonstrated that blockchain can enhance, rather than replace, traditional finance."
In other notable developments in the RWA space, Tezos has launched the world's first tokenized uranium market on the blockchain, allowing retail investors to access tokenized uranium for the first time ever.
Additionally, with the launch of Nayms, RWA is unlocking new investment opportunities in the $700 billion reinsurance market, as Nayms is a crypto-native (re)insurance marketplace that provides insurance risk to tokenized investors through RWA tokenization.
According to forecasts from some of the largest financial institutions and business consulting firms in the Tren Finance research report, the RWA industry could grow more than 50-fold by 2030.
Most companies predict the market size of the RWA industry could reach $4 trillion to $30 trillion.
RWA tokenization, market size forecast by 2030. Source: Train Finance
If the industry achieves the mid-range forecast of around $10 trillion, its current value would grow more than 54-fold.
2024 marks a significant resurgence of the cryptocurrency industry in terms of valuation and mainstream trust. Ripple's legal victory, as well as the growing interest in memecoin and RWA, demonstrate the industry's increasing legitimacy to global retail participants and regulators.
