On December 5, Bitcoin marked a new record price by crossing $100,000 for the first time (File) | Photo credit: REUTERS
2024 is a year where many crypto investors will be toast, even decades from now. After the United States voted to return Donald Trump to the White House, Bitcoin rose above $100,000 for the first time ever, signaling traders’ enthusiasm and hopes for the year future.
At the same time, it has been a painful and painful year for thousands of India-based crypto investors who were hit by one of the biggest crypto hacks on record and have been waiting for months for a resolution that has not been forthcoming. not yet materialized.
So, what crypto events and disasters defined the year that is coming to a close? Let’s take a look.
Cyberattack and restructuring WazirX
The July 18 cyberattack on multi-signature wallet WazirX and Liminal not only wiped out more than $230 million in assets; it also disrupted the lives of thousands of investors when cryptocurrency withdrawals were halted on the platform. As investors attempted to regain access to their crypto or involve Indian authorities, WazirX executives instead pushed for a moratorium and decided to carry out a restructuring in Singapore, insisting that it was the fastest way to get some of their recovery back for customers. The alleged perpetrators, the fate of the stolen funds, why Indian authorities have not yet publicly helped investors. . .all this remains a mystery for WazirX customers.
While crypto investors in other parts of the world were able to capitalize on the Bitcoin price surge in November, investors in WazirX (the number of registered users is in the millions) have no choice but to wait painfully for a foreign court to help them decide their fate.
Bitcoin halved
Bitcoin Halving is an event roughly once every four years that sees the mining reward for the leading cryptocurrency cut in half, so Bitcoin miners get fewer coins to process transactions and the asset automatically becomes rarer. The Bitcoin halving took place this year around April 19-20, with investors and miners following the developments with bated breath.
Although many thought or hoped that the Bitcoin halving would lead to considerable price gains for the most important coin, this was not actually the case and prices remained largely within the range already established at the time.
Bitcoin exceeds $100,000
On December 5, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high price by surpassing $100,000 for the first time ever and also surpassing the $106,000 mark a few days later, according to CoinMarketCap. In the days following the November 4 election that saw Trump re-elected to the White House, the price of Bitcoin surged to break through the $75,000, $80,000, $90,000, $95,000 price levels and even $99,000 before falling once again, but faltering. the range of $90,000 to $100,000. As South Korea reeled from a temporary martial law order that was overturned within hours, the top coin hit $100,000.
This is largely due to investor euphoria over Trump’s victory, with many viewing the 45th president and his supporter Elon Musk as crypto proponents who would ease the many existing regulatory constraints on the crypto market in the states -United.
Trump is also involved in a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, further encouraging crypto entrepreneurs who have long denounced the authority of the US SEC. The departure of Gary Gensler, chairman of the US SEC, who described the crypto market as the “Wild West”, also pleased many investors.
India Leads in Crypto Adoption
According to Chainalysis’s Global Crypto Adoption Index 2024, India took the top spot in adoption globally, for the second time in a row.
The Chainalysis report noted that India has a high tax on crypto capital gains, but said: “Regardless, these developments do not appear to hinder the overall growth of crypto in the country, and it’s the same this year. In addition to ranking second in the CSAO region in terms of cryptocurrency value received, India leads the world in terms of this year’s Global Adoption Index.
While Indian traders are willing to experiment with a range of cryptocurrencies and tokens, the country has also seen a rise in crypto scams targeting both experienced crypto traders as well as unsuspecting users who are unfamiliar with the asset class. Support for hacked or defrauded investors continues to be nascent, even as awareness increases.
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced
The billionaire and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX was sentenced to 25 years in prison last March after being found guilty of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit to commit money laundering.
While running the FTX exchange between 2019 and 2022, Bankman-Fried misused FTX customer funds in order to support a sister company called Alameda Research. Apart from this, he was a prolific political donor. It was later established that Bankman-Fried had stolen more than $8 billion of his clients’ money. During the highly anticipated US court proceedings, Bankman-Fried’s closest associates, including a former romantic partner, testified against him. Last October, FTX received court approval for a bankruptcy plan to repay its customers, with a limit of up to $16.5 billion in recovered assets.
Published – December 30, 2024 at 07:45 IST
