The Block, 5 Key Issues in the Cryptocurrency Market in 2024

Here is the English translation: 1) The First Year of the U.S. Bitcoin Spot ETF The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF is considered the most successful ETF in history in many aspects. The flagship product, BlackRock's IBIT, recorded a net inflow of $37 billion, and had only 10 days of negative performance this year. 2) Stablecoin Supply Reaches New Highs The circulating supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins surpassed $200 billion, reaching a new all-time high. This is the largest since the collapse of Terra, Celsius, and FTX in April 2022. 3) Solana Leads the DeFi Fee Resurgence DeFi fees surged by the end of 2024, reaching a daily high of $53 million in November and $55 million in December (all-time high of $893 million). This trend was primarily driven by Solana, especially projects like Radium, Jet, and Pumpkin Finance. 4) The Rise and Fall of Social Tokens The Web3 social media platform FriendTech briefly surpassed Ethereum's daily revenue but saw a sharp decline in trading volume this year. Some foreign media reported that the platform has effectively ceased operations, which the platform disputed. Podcaster also reached its all-time high in daily active users this year, but has since declined, with platform activity down about 70% from its May peak. 5) Surge in Polymarket Betting Ahead of U.S. Election Polymarket had its most successful year in the cryptocurrency space, with USDC-based betting surging ahead of the November U.S. election.