Coin Metrics Week in Review | December 31, 2024 - January 5, 2025

Coin Metrics is excited for the year ahead in the growing digital assets industry. In our 292nd issue of State of the Network, we reflect on the most significant moments and insights from 2024. We revisit key topics that defined the year, from the impact of Bitcoin’s halving and the growth of Ethereum staking to the rise of stablecoins and the continued evolution of decentralized exchanges (DEXs). This retrospective highlights the ongoing maturation of the cryptocurrency landscape, focusing on major shifts in market structure, adoption trends, and the technological advancements that have shaped the industry.

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Best of State of the Network in 2024

• Bitcoin’s 2024 Halving and Its Impact on Mining: The Bitcoin halving event in April 2024 significantly impacted miner profitability, reducing rewards by 50%. Despite the initial drop in revenue per terahash, the subsequent surge in Bitcoin’s price partially offset this impact, showcasing the resilience of the mining sector as it adapts to supply adjustments.
• Growth of Ethereum Staking: Ethereum’s staking ecosystem saw substantial growth with the success of the "Shapella" upgrade. The rise of liquid staking tokens (LSTs) and continued institutional interest in staking-driven ETFs has highlighted the increasing demand for staked Ether, reinforcing Ethereum’s position as a leader in the proof-of-stake blockchain space.
• Stablecoins and Their Expanding Role: Stablecoins, particularly Tether (USDT) and USDC, saw remarkable growth in 2024, surpassing $210 billion in supply. The year marked a shift towards new issuers, including financial institutions like BlackRock and tech giants like PayPal, with increasing adoption in DeFi protocols, stablecoin-backed yield-generating products, and digital payments.

Other Notable Topics

• MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Mega Strategy:?A deep dive into MicroStrategy's bold approach to Bitcoin adoption
• Floating on Thin Air:?Exploring how tokenomics and airdrops influence adoption and market dynamics
• A Primer on Blockchain Network Health:?Analyzing key metrics to assess the operational & economic health of blockchain networks
• The Crypto Universe through the Lens of datonomyTM:?Leveraging Coin Metrics’ datonomy? classification system to understand trends across digital asset sectors.
• Polymarket & the Power of Collective Intelligence:?Analyzing how Polymarket’s blockchain-based prediction markets reflected sentiment around the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.
• Unwrapping Wrapped Assets & WBTC:?Examining the role of tokenized assets in crypto, with a focus on wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) and its custodial restructuring by BitGo.

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Until next week,

The Coin Metrics Team