2024 Crypto Winners & Misses: AI Agents, Solana’s Surge, RWAs, and What’s Next
ToE's Weekly Highlights #
Let’s go through the 2024 recap
• AI Agents: 11K+ launches, $VIRTUAL 200x
• Hyperliquid: 12x growth, $27B FDV
• Solana: DEX volume > Ethereum, #1 for devs
• RWAs: Value doubled, $ONDO & $CHEX lead
• Polymarket: 40M visits, outpacing Uniswap
Who thrived, who flopped, and what’s next? Dive in 👇🧵
Image from @DWFVentures
2024 Crypto Recap
Let’s cut through the noise and spotlight the real winners.👇
AI Agents
AI dominated crypto this year, and AI agents were the clear breakout:
Virtuals Protocol: Over 11,000 tokens/agents launched. Its token, $VIRTUAL, hit a jaw-dropping 200x this year.
Top Use Case: aixbt, an AI-powered KOL revolutionizing insights on X.
But here’s the catch: AI hype is enormous. Only a handful of these projects will survive the inevitable consolidation.
Hyperliquid
No VC backing, Hyperliquid achieved what many said was impossible:
12x growth in 3 weeks.
A $27B FDV with no tier-1 CEX listings.
Solana
Solana beaten its competitors:
Surpassed Ethereum in DEX volume.
Crowned #1 ecosystem for new devs (Electric Capital).
Real-World Assets
Institutions are waking up to RWAs, with players like BlackRock leading the charge.
Total RWA value doubled this year.
Standout tokens: $ONDO, $CHEX, $OM, $CPOOL.
While growth is undeniable, RWA adoption is slow, and regulatory risks loom.
Polymarket
Polymarket became the largest prediction market globally, outpacing even Uniswap in traffic.
But where’s the token? It’s 2025 or bust—without a launch, momentum could stall.
What Didn’t Work in 2024
Not everything was a win. Some trends failed to deliver:
Memecoins: $PEPE spiked, but the bubble was short-lived.
Base: Strong growth, but real utility is still lacking.
Web3 Games: Off The Grid peaked briefly but failed to sustain interest.
Narrative Overview
Launches
sBTC on Stacks Mainnet
Bitcoin DeFi gets a major boost with sBTC, backed 1:1 by BTC, institutional signer networks, and Bitcoin finality. Phase 1 offers deposit-only functionality (1,000 BTC cap) and ~5% annual rewards. Withdrawals and cap increases are planned for Q1 2025.Tren Finance LGE (Liquidity Generation Event)
Tren Finance simplifies liquidity participation with USDT-only deposits on Arbitrum. XY tokens are minted 1:1 for stability and automated management.Sonic Labs Mainnet Explorer
Explore blocks with Sonic Labs’ new mainnet explorer, powered by Etherscan, ahead of the public launch.Jumper Wrapped
Jumper unveils Jumper Wrapped, a personalized on-chain recap highlighting your top swaps and explored chains.Pendle x Aave Pools
Pendle launched aUSDC and aUSDT pools (expiring June 2025) across multiple networks, offering enhanced yield opportunities and driving liquidity to Aave's stablecoin markets. vePENDLE voting is live, and LP incentives kick off Thursday.DIA Lasernet Testnet
DIA launched Lasernet, an ETH Layer-2 focused on oracle infrastructure. Built with Conduit, Optimism, Celestia, and Hyperlane, it supports scalable, decentralized, and permissionless data delivery. Mainnet launch is set for Q1 2025.Perennial Intents
Perennial’s novel intent layer offers a CEX-like experience for DeFi perpetuals. It guarantees price execution, one-click trading, and deep liquidity while rewarding traders with points through the new "Petals" program.
Updates
Wormhole x Circle CCTP
Developers on Sui can now enable seamless $USDC transfers in just three lines of code through Wormhole’s integration of Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol.Lido LCST Initiative
Lido launches Community Staking Tribes to empower Ethereum-aligned DAOs and organizations. The initiative trains and supports contributors in solo staking with co-branded DappNode hardware.Maple Proposals MIP-011 and MIP-012
Maple proposes to end MPL conversion to $SYRUP by April 2025 and restrict governance to stSYRUP holders. MPL and xMPL holders must convert to retain governance rights.Spectra Migration
Migration to $SPECTRA on Base is underway, with an open bridge until December 2025. APW and veAPW holders can migrate at their own pace.
Upcoming
f(x) Protocol V2
Aladdin DAO introduces leverage without liquidation risks. f(x) Protocol’s V2 will offer up to 10x leverage on ETH and the fxUSD delta-neutral strategy for high yields.Nest by Plume Network
Plume Network’s staking protocol for tokenized real-world assets launches soon. Pre-deposit registration is open for stablecoin deposits into professionally managed vaults.Kelp DAO Tokenomics Reveal
Kelp DAO will unveil its tokenomics tomorrow, providing insights into its upcoming plans.Frax ¤UI Launch
Frax’s Universal Interface integrates real-time AI routing and $250M TVL Sovereign L2 (Fraxtal). The UI simplifies access to Frax products and streamlines DeFi.Wormhole x Nuffle Labs
Multichain restaking with EigenLayer is here, offering unified liquidity and staking from any chain without bridging.
Airdrops
Pudgy Penguins $PENGU Claim
$PENGU is now claimable for eligible holders. The claim period lasts for 88 days, after which unclaimed tokens will be locked permanently.Fuel Genesis Drop
Fuel Network allocates 1 billion FUEL tokens to 200,000+ addresses. Claims open Dec 19, 2024, and close Jan 19, 2025.Aligned Foundation Genesis Drop
$ALIGN tokens are being distributed to 891,322 eligible addresses selected for holding tokens at ecosystem lows.Magic Eden Memecoin Claim
The first memecoin drop, mumu_bull, launches Dec 20 for 5,000 users.Shardeum’s Atomium Stage 4
Complete quests, refer friends, and run validators to earn XP, badges, NFTs, and $SHM airdrops.Renzo Season 3 Claims
Renzo allocates 400M $REZ to 81,684 wallets, with claims open until March 17.
Farms
ACI Merit Program
Deposit cbBTC and borrow USDC on Base or Ethereum to earn a share of $150,000 in rewards over three months.Levva Token Sale
Levva offers up to 80.8% APY on ETH/USDC with zero principal risk. Audited by Quantstamp, it supports multi-chain exposure with $4M TVL.Elixir Yield Conversion
Users with locked elxETH can convert and stake deUSD for liquid yields and earn rewards through Elixir.
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