Author: J1N, Techub News

The cryptocurrency market in 2024 is full of twists and turns and challenges. At the beginning of the year, the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF was officially launched; at the end of the year, we witnessed Bitcoin all the way breaking through $100,000. In the meantime, DCG's bankruptcy crisis was lifted, Mt. Gox repaid US$7 billion of Bitcoin debt; the global cryptocurrency field entered a new stage of compliance, Hong Kong launched Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, and Russian President Putin officially signed the Digital Currency Taxation Law , Trump was elected President of the United States as a supporter of the encryption field. The ups and downs of various events affect the entire cryptocurrency market. Today, we will review the biggest monthly events in the cryptocurrency market in 2024.

January

The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF is officially launched: the ten-year extreme pull has come to an end

On January 11, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially approved including VanEck, Bitwise, Fidelity, Franklin, Valkyrie, Hashdex, Ark 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs including Invest, Grayscale, BlackRock, WisdomTree and Invesco Galaxy. After the news was released, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated significantly, briefly exceeding 47,000 USDT and then falling below 45,000 USDT. There was also an own incident in which the SEC’s official account was stolen, causing Bitcoin’s maximum intraday drop to exceed 7%.

DCG announced that it has repaid all short-term loans to Genesis and has repaid more than US$1 billion in debt

On January 8, Digital Currency Group (DCG) announced that it had repaid all short-term loans to Genesis. Over the past year and more, DCG has repaid more than $1 billion of debt to creditors, including nearly $700 million of Genesis debt, meeting all currently due debt obligations.

Memecoin flatTaiwan Pump.fun is officially launched

Pump.fun is a one-stop Memecoin trading platform on Solana, where users can create tokens and trade immediately . The platform was officially launched on January 19, 2024. As of January 2, 2025, a total of 1.5 million SOL (worth approximately $300 million) has been deposited to the Kraken address through this.

February

Genesis and SEC regarding Gemini Earn The lawsuit was settled and it agreed to pay a fine of US$21 million

On February 2, according to Bloomberg, Genesis had reached a settlement with the SEC regarding litigation related to the Gemini Earn project and agreed to Pay SEC 2100 A $10,000 civil penalty was imposed to end the lawsuit. Gemini Earn, which is jointly operated by Genesis and Gemini, has been accused by the SEC of violating securities laws, with Genesis and Gemini denying wrongdoing. Genesis said in court documents that the settlement will save cash flow by avoiding further litigation with the SEC.

March

March 8, Bitcoin Breaking through 70,000 USDT, setting a record high since November 2021

The market value exceeded 100 million in 30 minutes: Slerf "Oh Fxxk"

March 18 On the same day, @Slerfsol, the founder of the Slerf project, tweeted that he had destroyed LP and airdrop reserved tokens due to misoperation, and the minting rights had been revoked. He was powerless and even cried with genuine emotion in Space. I thought that the meme project SLERF, which raised more than 50,000 SOL, would die, but I never thought that this move would actually make SLERF refresh the previous BOME record of exceeding 100 million in market value in 9 hours. In only 30 minutes, SLERF's market value exceeded 100 million, making it a meme.

BlackRock launches first tokenized fund BUIDL on Ethereum

On March 20, BlackRock launched its first tokenized fund "BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL)" issued on Ethereum. BUIDL will subscribe to the Fund through Securitize Markets, LLC, providing accredited investors the opportunity to earn U.S. dollar income. BUIDL seeks to provide a stable value of $1 per token and pay out daily accrued dividends as new tokens directly into investors’ wallets every month. The fund invests 100% of its total assets in cash, U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements. BUIDL’s initial ecosystem participants include Anchorage Digital Bank NA, BitGo, Coinbase, and Fireblocks, as well as other market players and infrastructure providers in the crypto industry.

April

Uniswap and other projects received SEC approval Wells Notice

On April 10, Uniswap Labs received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The founder of Uniswap Labs said, "I'm not surprised, but annoyed, disappointed, and ready to fight back." We will not cease operations. I believe that the products we provide are legal and that our work is historically correct. But it’s clear that instead of working toward clear and sensible rules for so long, the SEC decided to focus on attacking long-term builders like Uniswap and Coinbase. Meanwhile, bad actors like FTX get away with it.

The SEC's Wells Notice is a formal notice that tells the recipient that the regulator plans to take enforcement action against it.

Bitcoin block reward halved

On April 20, 2024, Bitcoin ushered in the four-year block reward halving event. The halving reduces the mining reward per block from 6.25 Bitcoins to 3.125 Bitcoins, further reducing the supply of Bitcoin.

Hong Kong virtual asset spot ETF was approved for listing

The first batch of Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF products applied by the Hong Kong subsidiaries of ChinaAMC, Boshi and Harvest Funds were officially approved by the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission. Subsequently, on April 30, they were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Officially listed on the market.

According to Futu NiuNiu data, as of the first day of the market close, the total trading volume of the six first batch of virtual asset spot ETFs issued in Hong Kong was approximately HK$87.58 million, of which The trading volume of Xiaxia Bitcoin ETF (3042.HK) is 37.16 million Hong Kong dollars, the trading volume of Huaxia Ethereum ETF (3046.HK) is 12.66 million Hong Kong dollars, and Boshi HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008.HK) has a trading volume of HK$12.44 million, Boshi HashKey Ethereum ETF (3009.HK) has a trading volume of HK$2.48 million, Harvest Bitcoin Spot ETF (3439.HK) has a trading volume of HK$17.89 million, and Harvest Ethereum Spot ETF ( 3179.HK) trading volume was HK$4.95 million.

May

Zhao Changpeng was sentenced to 4 months in prison

May 1 On September 1, Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, received a sentencing hearing after pleading guilty to violating U.S. money laundering laws. The reason was that he failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering framework within the deadline, causing Binance to become a connivance for cybercrime and terrorist activities. financial platform.

The judge rejected the 36-month sentence recommended by the Department of Justice, and Changpeng Zhao was ultimately sentenced to four months in prison by the Seattle Federal Court. U.S. District Judge Judge Richard said to Changpeng Zhao, "You had the ability, financial resources and manpower to ensure compliance with every regulation, but you missed this opportunity."

20In November 23, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that Binance admitted to participating in suspected money laundering, unlicensed remittances and sanctions violations, and agreed to pay a fine of approximately US$4.3 billion; at the same time, Changpeng Zhao admitted that he failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering plan , and has resigned as CEO of Binance.

As part of the plea agreement, Binance agreed to forfeit $2.51 billion and pay a $1.81 billion criminal fine, for a total forfeiture of $4.32 billion. Binance also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years to correct and strengthen its anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs.

After accepting penalties from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced in December 2023 that it would impose a $2.85 billion penalty on Binance and Changpeng Zhao. punishment. Including the US$4.32 billion settlement amount from the US Department of Justice, Binance and Changpeng Zhao have paid a total of US$7.17 billion in fines.

Mt.Gox transfers more than $7 billion worth of Bitcoin to prepare for debt repayment

On May 28, the Mt. Gox wallet address transferred a total of more than 107,000 Bitcoins to a new address, worth approximately US$7 billion. Mt. Gox said this is in preparation for repaying creditors by Oct. 31, 2024.

June

FTX and IRS settle Section 240 FTX settles $24 billion in tax claims with the IRS for a fraction of what the IRS says it is owed A small portion that helps FTX pay out large amounts of customer compensation. The IRS will receive a $200 million priority claim in FTX's bankruptcy case and will pay it within 60 days of the company's proposed reorganization plan taking effect.

Hong Kong SFC requires all Shenban exchanges not to have mainland users and sign a commitment letter

On June 1, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) required all applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses to sign a letter of commitment, promising that none of their entities could own mainland-based cryptocurrencies in any region.household. This requirement makes traditional offshore exchanges unable to meet it. Binance OKX HTX Bybit Gate and others have withdrawn their applications for Hong Kong licenses. OKX tried to form an industry alliance to oppose this request but ultimately to no avail. However, industry insiders said that the withdrawn entity can update the legal entity or framework and apply again in the future, but it should not be able to apply using a brand similar to the current offshore exchange.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Paul Assange has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice and will regain his freedom and return to Australia after pleading guilty

On June 25, documents from the U.S. District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands showed that 52-year-old Julian Paul Assange agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to obtain and leak confidential U.S. defense documents and reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice After pleading guilty, he would be free and return to Australia.

Korea meeting passed the implementation order of the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" on July 19 Effective

On June 25, the South Korean meeting passed the implementation order of the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act", which will take effect on July 19. The decree aims to protect virtual asset users and regulate the order of the virtual asset market. According to the new law, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) need to protect user deposits through banks and isolate and save users’ virtual assets from the Internet to prevent risks such as hacker attacks.

VanEck, ARK 21Shares files Solana spot ETF S-1 filing with SEC

June On the 28th, VanEck and 21Shares respectively submitted S-1 documents for the Solana spot ETF in the United States. Matthew Sigel, director of digital asset research at VanEck, said in an interview that whether VanEck’s spot Solana ETF application can be approved depends largely on the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election and whether Gary Gensler continues to serve as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). President. VanEck filed for a spot Solana ETF last week, closely followed by 21Shares. Matthew Sigel points out that as Washington regulatesDue to changes in the environment, many Democratic lawmakers have begun to support encryption legislation, and encryption voters may play a key role in this election. He also mentioned that if Ethereum-related products are approved for trading, their commodity status will be confirmed, and believes that the same should be true for Solana.

July

SEC dropped its investigation into PAXOS and determined that BUSD is not a security

On July 11, the SEC decided to end its investigation into Paxos, a New York stablecoin issuer, and determined that BUSD was not a security. In a July 9 letter to Fortune, Jorge Tenreiro, acting director of the cryptoassets and cyber division, said he had no intention of recommending enforcement action. More than a year ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Wells Notice, or notice of impending enforcement action, to Paxos over its U.S. dollar-backed BUSD stablecoin issued in partnership with Binance.

Paxos strategy director Walter Hessert said in an interview: "The official termination of this investigation is a huge relief for us. This is what we have been expectations, it really should create more certainty for the market, and we are seeing more and more large players joining in. ”

German address month. 50,000 Bitcoins were sold within a month, worth approximately US$3.3 billion

On July 13, a 24-day sell-off at German addresses ended with a total of 50,179 Bitcoins sold, worth approximately $3.3 billion. Lennart Ante, co-founder and CEO of German blockchain research lab Blockchain Research Lab, pointed out that the dumping of Bitcoin by German law enforcement agencies is not an investment strategy, but a standard procedure for confiscating assets in criminal investigations. In addition, the analysis found that the person selling Bitcoin was not Germany itself, but a small state in eastern Germany called Saxony. The Saxony State Attorney General’s Office is responsible for liquidating confiscated assets, so this asset sell-off is not surprising. As seized assets need to be liquidated within a certain period, this is a regular course of business, albeit on a larger than normal scale this time.

In most cases, a state is allowed to do this only if a judge rulesIn this case, the confiscated assets can be transferred or sold and the proceeds will go to the state budget. This is not the case in this case, but states can request the initiation of emergency sales, for example, if the value of the assets is likely to rapidly depreciate or is difficult to store. An emergency sale can be initiated.

The U.S. Ethereum spot ETF was officially launched

On July 23, according to the official U.S. SEC Information shows that it has officially approved 9 S-1 applications from ETF issuers, and Ethereum spot ETFs have been officially approved for listing and trading, including Grayscale and Bitwise Ethereum spot ETFs listed on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, on Nasdaq Listed BlackRock iShares Ethereum spot ETF, as well as the VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity and Franklin Ethereum spot ETFs listed on Chicago-based options trading platform BZX.

After years of fighting and gaming with regulatory agencies, Ethereum has finally entered the US ETF trading market after Bitcoin. The approval of the Ethereum spot ETF will be another important milestone in the history of the cryptocurrency field, and it will also indicate that the supervision surrounding the encryption industry has officially broken the ice and entered a mature regulatory landscape that is driven by market demand and centered around innovation.

Trump: Bitcoin reserve will be established in the United States

July 27, At this time, the US Republican presidential candidate Trump said at the Bitcoin Conference (bitcoin2024) in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, "If we do not accept cryptocurrency and Bitcoin technology, we will accept it, and others will accept it. They will Dominate, we can't let Dominate. They have made too much progress.”

Trump talked about establishing a Presidential Advisory Council on Cryptocurrency and using the current U.S. holdings. Most of the cryptocurrencies seized in law enforcement actions create a Bitcoin reserve.

August

Telegram co-founder and CEO in FranceArrested in France

On August 25, Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France. Durov was arrested by the French Anti-Fraud Office after arriving in France from Azerbaijan on a private jet. The reason for the arrest is allegedly related to illegal activities on the Telegram platform, including facilitating terrorism, drug and stolen goods sales, fraud, etc.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launches the Ensemble project sandbox to promote tokenized applications

On August 28, the official website of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced that Ensemble will be held today At the project sandbox launch ceremony, it was announced that the first phase of the trial will cover four major tokenized asset use case themes, marking an important step for the financial industry in the practical application of tokenized technology.

September

Moo Deng, the pygmy hippopotamus, has taken the world by storm. The memecoin of the same name has a market value of over US$300 million

A two-month-old pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng (bouncing pig) at the Chonburi Zoo in Thailand was found to be having fun with the keeper The interaction quickly became popular and became a famous Internet meme. Made into various memes. Hippo fever also swept the encryption circle. On September 10, its eponymous memecoin on Solana was born, and its market value exceeded US$300 million at the end of the month.

Zhao Changpeng is released from prison

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao will be released from prison on September 29 and is currently undergoing pre-reentry preparation and assessment at the Long Beach Residence Management (RRM) in central California. The Reintegration Administration, also known as the "Halfway House," serves as the local liaison between the Federal Bureau of Prisons and federal courts, the U.S. Marshals Service, and state and local correctional agencies. It contracts with federal prisons to provide services to federal prisons. Providing necessary help and support to prisoners about to be released to ensure a smooth transition to social life

October

The President of El Salvador proposed "renting 170 volcanoes to Bitcoin miners" to promote geothermal energy The bill was introduced

On October 4, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele issued a document stating that miners can use the geothermal energy generated by volcanoes to reduce mining costs. El Salvador has successfully mined 474 Bitcoins worth approximately $46 million using geothermal energy. Bukele noted that El Salvador, with its 170 volcanoes, is a rich source of energy that attracts miners from around the world. He wrote: "With 170 volcanoes, it actually makes sense to launch a 'rent volcanoes to mine Bitcoin' plan." In this regard, Daniel Alvarez, director of the General Administration of Energy, Hydrocarbons and Mines of El Salvador, said that the team will start drafting a new geothermal regulation Energy Bill to support the implementation of this plan.

U.S. judge approves FTX bankruptcy plan to fully repay cryptocurrency customers in cash plus interest

On November 8, Judge John Dorsey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware decided to approve FTX’s bankruptcy plan at a hearing and will repay cryptocurrency customers in full in cash plus interest. Under the plan, 98% of creditors will receive at least 118% of the value of their claims in cash. FTX lawyers said they are still considering distributing stablecoins to creditors as an option and confirmed they are in discussions with at least four companies that could handle such a distribution if necessary.

AI Agent breaks out, GOAT exceeds US$1 billion within one month of listing

October 10 On the same day, a16z founder, Marc Andreeson provided $50,000 in research funding to Andy and AI @truth_terminal, and then @truth_terminal launched GOAT, triggering the AI ​​Agent A new craze for the theme, its market capitalization exceeded $1 billion within a month of listing.

November

The Monetary Authority of Singapore promotes asset agency Monetization and commercialization

On November 5, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced a number of measures to promote the commercialization of asset tokenization. MAS draws from experience across multiple projects to develop a new framework to provide guidance. At the inaugural MAS Layer One Summit, Vice President Leong Xingqiang reviewed the success of large financial institutions participating in Project Guardian in testing FX and fund tokenization. The Project Guardian industry group has published two tokenization implementation frameworks: the Guardian Fixed Income Framework and the Guardian Funds Framework. SGD Testnet will provide Singapore dollar wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for payments and securities settlement. Project Orchid develops use cases for retail CBDC and introduces the concept of purpose-bound currencies.

On November 12, Bitcoin exceeded 90,000 USDT

Bitcoin’s market value has increased to US$1.758 trillion, surpassing silver at US$1.732 trillion, becoming the 8th largest asset in the world by market capitalization.

Polish presidential candidate: If elected, he will use Bitcoin strategic reserves

November 18 On the same day, Polish presidential candidate Sławomir Mentzen promised to adopt a Bitcoin strategic reserve if elected.

Russian President Putin officially signed the digital currency taxation law, and digital currency was recognized as property

On November 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law regulating the taxation of digital currencies. According to the law, digital currencies are recognized as property. This also applies to currencies used for foreign trade payments “within the framework of the Experimental Legal Regime (EPR) in the field of digital innovation”. The mining and sale of digital currencies are not subject to VAT.

Operators of mining infrastructure must report tax on cryptocurrencies issued using their services. Failure to transmit such information on time is punishable by a fine of 40,000 rubles. For personal income tax purposes, digital currency earned through mining will be classified as in-kind income (a term typically used when payments are made using goods or services rather than currency). The value of the resulting currency will be determined based on market quotes.

Such income will be taxed at the usual progressive rates, taking into account tax deductions on the amount of mining fees. At the same time, income from the acquisition, sale or other circulation of digital currencies will be taxed at two-stage personal income tax rates ( 13% for income up to 2.4 million rubles and 15% for income above this amount). They will be included in the same tax base as income from transactions from securities, bank deposits and other sources. In terms of corporate income tax, digital currency mining will be subject to standard. Tax rate (from 2025 25%) tax

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reorganizes Web3 and encryption departments

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On November 29, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reorganized the Web3 and cryptocurrency development departments. Digital Minister Taira Shoaki recently stated that the Liberal Democratic Party will disband the existing Web3. The Project Team (PT) instead established a specialized agency within the party’s digital society promotion department, led by former Web3 PT Secretary-General Shiozaki Akihisa. Previously, Shigeru Ishiba’s campaign platform showed plans to use blockchain technology and NFT to promote local development. Projects that elevate the value of local products, such as food and travel experiences, to global levels

< strong title="">December

The President of South Korea issued a martial law order, and Bitcoin on the Upbit platform experienced a negative premium and fell below 72,000 USDT

On December 3, the President of South Korea issued a martial law order. Members of the South Korean opposition party said that the entrance to the National Assembly was blocked and they were trying to overturn the martial law order issued by South Korean President Yin Xiyue. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said that Yin Xiyue's declaration of martial law was illegal and violated the constitution.

Perhaps affected by this incident, South Korean cryptocurrencies were handed over to Upbit. Bitcoin showed a serious negative premium. Bitcoin on Upbit showed a negative premium and fell below 72,000 USDT. XRP fell by 60 in a short time. %, USDC/USDT exchange rate rises to 1.2

Microsoft shareholders vote against Bitcoin. Investment Proposal

DecemberOn the 11th, major Microsoft shareholders voted against the company’s Bitcoin investment proposal on Tuesday. Previously, Microsoft's board of directors had urged shareholders to reject a recommendation from the U.S. Public Research Center that Microsoft invest 1% of its total assets in Bitcoin to hedge against inflation. At the annual shareholder meeting, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor gave a three-minute speech in an attempt to persuade Microsoft shareholders to support the proposal. But the final vote showed that shareholders failed to accept the proposal. Currently, Microsoft's largest shareholders are major institutional investors such as Vanguard and BlackRock.

On December 12, Bitcoin exceeded 108,000 USDT