Thanks to the approval by the American regulatory authority of exchange-traded funds linked to its spot price, bitcoin more than doubled in 2024.

Bitcoin, the world's largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, hit $100,000 in early December, a step that inflamed “animal spirits” among proponents of the once-nascent asset class. According to data from CoinGecko, a rise of more than 120% in bitcoin this year and a jump of almost 50% in ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, have propelled the sector's market value to around $3.5 trillion. Most crypto stocks have also benefitted from the recovery of the entire sector. The big winners in 2024 are MicroStrategy, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and bitcoin miner Hut 8