It is evident that 2024 has seen seismic changes in politics, economy, technology and geopolitics.
This year was a transformative one, from the groundbreaking advances in artificial intelligence and blockchain to the unprecedented shifts in cryptocurrency.
The world has been reshaped by political realignments and economic challenges. New global conflicts are also emerging. This is setting up a complicated 2025.
Donald Trump is returning to the White House
Donald Trump’s win over Kamala in the US Presidential election of 2024 marked an historic political comeback.
Trump won despite the controversy surrounding the Capitol Riot of January 6, 2017. He did so by capitalising on dissatisfaction with economic conditions and concerns about immigration.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House signaled a possible shift in US domestic and foreign policy. Republicans hold the smallest House majority ever.
Early indications indicate that Trump’s election will have a major impact on global geopolitics. However, the implications are still unclear.
Bitcoin surpasses $100,000 milestone
Bitcoin reached a psychological milestone in 2024 when it crossed $100,000.
The achievement of this milestone enhanced its reputation as an asset that is legitimate, and attracted interest from institutions and governments.
MicroStrategy’s stock value soared, and nations that were previously skeptical of cryptocurrency, such as Japan or Russia, started considering Bitcoin reserves.
Amazon and other major corporations have also investigated integrating Bitcoin in their operations. This shows the growing popularity of Bitcoin.
It is clear that concerns about volatility persist, and this highlights the importance of regulatory clarity.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs revolutionise crypto investment
SEC’s approval in January 2024 of twelve spot Bitcoin ETFs marked an historic moment for cryptocurrency.
Unprecedented success was achieved by the funds that allowed investors to buy Bitcoin on regulated exchanges.
Bitcoin’s previous record was broken in just two months. It reached $70,000 by March.
Bitcoin ETFs in the US will have managed assets of over $105 billion by Christmas 2024. This represents nearly 5.7% Bitcoin’s entire supply.
The rapid growth of cryptos has even outpaced the gold ETFs.
This development encouraged other markets to launch Bitcoin exchange traded products, such as the UK.
Ethereum ETFs followed soon after, and altcoins vied for approval in a similar manner.
Global politics is reshaped by the anti-incumbency movement
The 2024 elections swept away political leaders around the globe.
In countries such as India and Japan, the dominant parties lost seats. This often led to fragile coalitions in these nations.
Dissatisfaction in the United States, and United Kingdom with immigration and economic policies has led to major changes of leadership.
The gamble taken by French President Emmanuel Macron to hold snap parliamentary election backfired and threatened his presidency.
In Germany, the ruling coalition fell apart after a poor set of state elections.
Globally, this trend highlights voters’ frustrations over stagnating economies as well as their growing skepticism towards democratic governance.
AI is pushing the limits of innovation
In 2024 the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a combination of science fiction and reality, continued apace.
AI has made significant advances in the past year, from manufacturing efficiency to healthcare innovation.
The Nobel Committees have awarded prizes for machine learning, protein structure prediction and other pioneers of AI.
The AI revolution has revealed some limitations despite its excitement. These include the lack of qualified professionals, and the enormous resource requirements for training AI models.
The fear of a growing gap between rich and poor nations was heightened by these constraints.
Global discussions about AI regulations gained momentum, but were unable to reach a conclusion due to the rapid development of technology.
Fears of another shock sparked by China exports
China’s economy took a turn for the worse in 2024. This brought back memories of “China shock”, which occurred at the beginning of 2000.
Beijing, facing internal economic problems and a declining demand from consumers, increased its exports by increasing subsidies for domestic producers.
Solar panels and electric cars from China at low prices flooded international trade routes. Many nations were concerned about the impact of these products on their local industries, even though they helped to facilitate greener transitions.
Brazil, India and the United States implemented new tariffs to limit the flow of Chinese products. Washington is set to increase its tariffs in 2025. This will intensify trade tensions. This escalation could lead to more conflict, or it may encourage negotiations.
Solana meme coins dominate crypto narratives
The explosive growth of Solana’s meme coin eco-system became 2024.
Platforms such as Pump.fun sparked the trend, causing Solana’s meme coin to dominate 7.65% of cryptocurrency market discussion.
Memecoins like Dogwifhat(WIF) or BONK have experienced meteoric increases, with BONK recording an astounding 38,000% increase over the past two years.
The frenzy pushed Solana up to second place in terms of total value locked, surpassing $8.6 billion. SOL also reached an all-time high of $263 per SOL coin during November. These assets were volatile, and most traders lost money in speculative trades.
Russia continues to advance in Ukraine despite the war raging on
In the third year since Russia invaded Ukraine, there were significant changes.
Russia has adopted a meat-grinder strategy to gain territory in the east of Ukraine at the expense of many casualties. Over 115,000 soldiers have been killed, and over 500,000 injured.
Ukraine suffered a lower loss of life, but still a devastating one. 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, and another 370,000 injured.
In the face of these losses, Kyiv has launched attacks across its border into Russia’s Kursk Region, which forced Moscow to send North Korean troops in order to defend their territory.
Western countries reversed their longstanding policy and began supplying Kyiv advanced weapons including missiles with long ranges. The question is whether the two sides can continue the attritional war that defined this conflict.
The Middle East is escalating
The attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023 sparked a violent and unstable year across the Middle East.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis will worsen by 2024, when the death toll is expected to exceed 45,000.
Israel’s response included strikes against Hamas leaders as well as Iranian-backed organizations.
Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon significantly weakened Hezbollah, and Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
Iran’s involvement in the conflict escalated tensions, and led to strikes on Iran that crippled its missile production.
The region is now more unstable, and there are questions raised about whether the future of the area will be peaceful or if it will continue to be disordered.
Gary Gensler’s resignation changes crypto regulations
In November 2024, the resignation of SEC chair Gary Gensler marked a pivotal moment in US crypto policy.
Gensler, who was known for his strict regulatory approach, left the company in hopes of a better environment with his successor Paul Atkins. Atkins is a strong advocate for digital assets.
Gensler led the SEC to pursue enforcement actions against Binance, Coinbase and other major exchanges, which caused friction in the industry. Ses exit prompted optimism that policies would shift to encourage innovation and growth within the crypto industry.
The world’s governments are crumbling
After 16 years of rule, Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister in Bangladesh after mass protests began early August 2024. Hasina fled to India after student-led protests against alleged authoritarian policies.
The Nobel-winning Professor Muhammad Yunus is now the head of an interim government that has been tasked to steer the nation toward democracy. Questions remain, however, about Yunus’ ability to rebuild democratic institutions and whether political instability will continue.
The French government collapsed on the 4th of December, after Michel Barnier was defeated in a vote of no confidence. This is the first time since 1962 that a government has fallen.
The German coalition government broke up due to disputes over finances, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner last November.
On 8 December in Syria, the opposition overthrew Bashar Al-Assad’s autocratic regime, ending fifty years of dictatorship. Damascus’ rapid collapse marked a turning point in the history of the Middle East.
On 3 December, South Korea was thrown into political chaos when Yoon Suk Yeol announced martial law. This declaration was later repealed after mass protests by parliamentary and public opposition.
This situation paralysed the South Korean government, and exposed deep divisions in the ruling party. The South Korean government is still standing, but it’s on very shaky grounds.
The post Recap 2024 – Trump’s victory, Bitcoin’s return and geopolitical turmoil could be updated as new information is revealed
