Is this the start of crypto’s ‘Golden Age’? 🏆

Key factors that could shape crypto’s future 📈

December 28, 2024

GM! This is Milk Road PRO, the ‘helicopter parent’ of crypto.

(We’re obsessed with guiding your portfolio in the right direction).

This is the time of year when we reflect on 2024. 

It’s a chance to take stock of everything that has happened.

Some changes are quite apparent—just look at the chart below showing the total crypto market cap’s change in 2024.

[

Source: TradingView

Crypto soared from $1.5 trillion to $3.3 trillion, adding almost $2 trillion of value!

It’s an impressive sign that the industry hasn’t stopped evolving and has been working nonstop, even during bear markets. 

Because let’s be honest: most people jump in during the bull runs and disappear during the bear markets. 

For years, crypto enthusiasts claimed that blockchain would transform the world, but until now, it remained mostly niche (so we don’t blame them).

Perhaps our early optimism was naive – either way, we believe 2024 has laid the foundations for a new era in crypto – one that goes far beyond speculation!

What’re we backing this up with?

• For the first time ever, nations and governments are supporting crypto.

• We’ve finally cracked the code to create scalable, fast, and affordable blockchains.

• We now have useful apps that offer superior products and solve real-world problems.

On top of this, the global macro conditions are improving, and 2025 is expected to be an exceptional year for breakthrough technologies.

Crypto stands as a strong candidate to capture this attention, not just in 2025 but for years to come.

Even if prices dip and macro conditions worsen again, the perception of crypto won’t swing as dramatically as it did in the past. Today, we’ll explain why.

As well as why 2024 will, in retrospect, be seen as a breakthrough year for crypto.

This is what we’ve all been waiting for. This is the moment. 

We may still carry a bit of that original hopeful optimism, but now it feels more justified. We can build and innovate freely, backed by real progress and real adoption.

Welcome to the new era of crypto.

But before we start we need to provide a little bit more context, so everyone can understand what it was to build in crypto until this very year. 😔 

Our guess is: you’re going to be shocked by what you hear!

BUILDING IN CRYPTO UNTIL 2024

We’ll show you three examples of attacks that crypto has faced—even up until this year.

PS: They’re not pretty—sometimes, they’re downright brutal. But it’s important to understand the environment we’ve all been living in and operating under.

1/ You write open-source code → you are responsible for how people use it

Roman Storm, a developer who wrote open-source code for Tornado Cash—a privacy-focused project—never imagined where it would lead. 

One day regulators discovered criminals were misusing his code, they reached out, and Roman agreed to cooperate with their investigation. 

Yet, one morning, a SWAT team burst into his home, handcuffed him in front of his young daughter, and took him away. 

Now, he faces severe charges that could result in decades behind bars. 

This story sparks a big question: if people misuse a developer’s code, should the developer be held responsible?

2/ You work in crypto → banks can close or freeze your bank accounts

Imagine waking up one day to find that your business bank account is frozen, or worse, completely closed without any warning. 

This isn’t a rare nightmare—many crypto companies and founders have lived it. The industry calls this “being de-banked”.

Banks view crypto as risky and can take these actions without providing any real explanation. It just doesn’t feel fair.

3/ Unregistered Securities Claims

Meanwhile, the SEC has been cracking down on companies and projects, accusing them of offering unregistered securities. 

Overnight, you’re not just a startup founder—you’re a defendant. 

Giants like Coinbase and Binance can weather the legal storm, but what about smaller projects like Uniswap or Lido, beloved by the community yet far less prepared for a drawn-out court battle? 

Teams may have to pause development, funnel money into legal defense, and watch their vision stall. 

It’s not just a financial hit; it’s a gut punch to morale and trust, casting a heavy shadow over everyone trying to make crypto more accessible and useful.

You’ve just heard three real stories.

We hope that by now you’ll agree that we should be grateful to all the builders and companies who kept pushing forward—even knowing what could go wrong.

Nevertheless, many founders and companies found themselves forced to leave the U.S. or Europe because of these challenges, opting instead to establish their businesses elsewhere.

This isn’t how it should be. We’re optimistic that these challenges are in the rearview mirror, paving the way for a transformative future.

So let’s explain why we believe this is all behind us! 

BUILDING IN CRYPTO AFTER 2024

Here’s the ideal scenario for crypto:

A future where crypto founders are welcomed with open arms.

A future where governments will compete to attract cutting-edge crypto projects, offering supportive regulations and incentives to the brightest minds in the industry. 

This transformation marks the dawn of a new era where building in crypto is not only safe but highly encouraged and celebrated.

Sounds too good to be true? Let us explain what boosts our optimism. 

1/ The Trump effect

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve noticed that Trump has been using crypto as a political tool during his campaign. 

However, we weren’t sure how much of that was just populism aimed at attracting crypto voters and how much he genuinely supports the cryptocurrency industry.

That picture is starting to become clearer.

[

Source: News.Bitcoin

His continued pro-crypto rhetoric gives us more reasons to believe it wasn't merely a strategy to win the election. 

Moreover, it appears that Trump plans to implement radical changes to transform both the US government and its economy. He wants to solve these two major issues:

• The US government is too slow, too bureaucratic, too ineffective. 

  Donald Trump has outlined an ambitious plan to restructure the U.S. government, with a focus on efficiency, cost savings, and significant reductions in bureaucracy and regulations. 

  Hello Elon and DOGE! 🖐️ Not the memecoin, but the new department that is being put together. 

  Yes, Musk (together with Vivek Ramaswamy) is supposed to lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

  And as we all know by now, it is usually not profitable to bet against Musk! 🤣

• Addressing Growing US Debt and Technological Leadership

  The US debt is continuously increasing, and the country is losing ground to competitors like China in adopting cutting-edge technologies. 

  Trump recognizes that boosting America's GDP to offset debt growth and maintain global leadership is essential. 

  Therefore, the administration must prioritize emerging technologies and focus on innovation. Simply because those will improve productivity and help GDP to grow faster. 

  What this means in practice is that Trump selects pro-business (pro-crypto) technologists for key positions to make that happen.

[

Source: Swan Bitcoin/Youtube

Oh, and there’s one more thing! It might not be a big deal, or maybe it is—who knows?

• Trump has launched his own DeFi project called World Liberty Financial

  Yep, you heard that right! His project is like Aave, offering lending and borrowing on the blockchain. 

  And just recently they’ve loaded up on $ETH, $AAVE, and $LINK tokens. They used Cowswap—because why not use the coolest swapping tool out there? 

  Clearly, these guys know their way around crypto.

  Honestly, if they’re this on point, it might make us just a bit more bullish on Trump and his plans. 😂

  Still, while it’s pretty funny to see Trump launching his own DeFi project and throwing millions into crypto, it’s really not that big of a deal. 

  The bigger picture we’re looking into goes way beyond this. But hey, we had to mention it, because let’s be honest—it’s kind of hilarious, and you deserve to know! 😄

Jokes aside—let’s get back to the real stuff that’s going down.

Crypto’s future is starting to look brighter, especially with signs that the U.S. might finally get serious about supporting innovation including crypto. 

Sure, there are plenty of other countries doing cool things with crypto, but let’s be real—the U.S. is the one that sets the tone for the rest of the world.

Whether we like it or not, the U.S. is the most influential player in the game. When they make moves, the world pays attention. 

If the U.S. decides to embrace crypto and create an environment where it can thrive, it won’t just help the industry grow—it could completely change the game for everyone.

Actually, let’s talk about something else that happened in 2024—something that might help prove this point even further!

INVESTING IN CRYPTO IN 2024 AND BEYOND

The investing landscape has also shifted dramatically in 2024. Why? Because of the crypto ETFs. 

1/ Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs went live

2024 will go down as the year when traditional, more conservative investors finally gained easy access to the two biggest cryptocurrencies on the market—Bitcoin and Ethereum—through ETFs.

Sure, similar products existed in other parts of the world before, but not in the U.S.—the country that holds 60% of global market capitalization and dominates both liquidity and global investment flows.

That’s what made this such a big deal. 

With Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs officially going live in the U.S. this year, it opened the door for a flood of institutional and retail investors who had been waiting on the sidelines. 

And both ETFs have seen huge success. Look at the Bitcoin ETF holdings excluding Grayscale.

[

Source: Hildobby/Dune

Bitcoin ETFs now hold 915,000 $BTC, and when you add the Grayscale fund (the more expensive version of the ETF) to the mix, the total reaches 1.1 million $BTC—equivalent to $104 billion. 

That’s 5.6% of Bitcoin’s total supply locked up in these investment vehicles. 

For context, most analysts were predicting $30–50 billion for 2024, so this figure has blown past expectations by a huge margin.

And guess what? Ethereum ETFs were launched later in the year, in June, and they’ve been seeing decent demand too. 

[

Source: Hildobby/Dune

Ethereum ETFs now hold 2.1 million $ETH, and when you factor in Grayscale’s holdings, the total rises to 3.5 million $ETH. 

That’s 2.9% of Ethereum’s total supply, valued at $12 billion. 

Looking at both of these charts, we can see the sudden spike of inflows starting around the US election (November 5th). 

It shows how political events can influence market confidence and drive the demand.

The launch of these ETFs in 2024 added a new layer of credibility to crypto and it’s likely to bring in major players like banks, pension funds, and wealth managers, who’ve been sitting on the sidelines. 

Until now, these big-money players didn’t have a compliant or straightforward way to invest in crypto. With ETFs on the table, that barrier is gone, and the floodgates could open. 🌊

Well the floodgates could open—but they don’t have to. 

If the current economic data and forward outlooks looked weak, it’d be hard to expect a wave of new money pouring in. 

But luckily, that’s not the world we’re living in right now. 

2/ Improved macro data in 2024

This year, we’ve finally managed to get inflation under control.

[

Source: TradingEconomics

Inflation is currently at 2.7%. The Fed has signaled a significant shift in its approach to inflation, indicating that it no longer needs to push inflation all the way down to 2%.

Instead, they’ve expressed comfort with a 3% target.

The unemployment rate is also at reasonable levels at 4.2% and overall economic activity is strong. 

While there are early signs of growth starting to slow, the Fed has plenty of room to cut rates, which could give the economy a boost and reignite growth when needed.

In short, we’ve made it through a period of economic stagnation (see the green rectangle below) and are now heading into better times. 

Just take a look at the chart below—it highlights the economic cycle and liquidity trends, showing how we’re positioned for a more favorable phase ahead.

[

Source: CrossBorder Capital

It feels like a lot of things are lining up, and 2025 could turn out to be a great year for investors. 

But let’s not jump too far ahead just yet. Our PRO report, coming out next week, will dive deeper into what 2025 might bring.

For now, we’re keeping this report focused on 2024 and the big changes that have happened this year—changes that are likely to have a lasting impact. 

On that note, one of the biggest stories of 2024 is how blockchain technology has FINALLY matured. 

BLOCKCHAIN INFRA IS READY

To be fair, blockchains have been improving steadily over the past eight years, and we’re still not at a point where we can push the entire world onchain. 

We’re also not naive enough to think this transition will happen overnight.

So, what makes us believe the infrastructure is finally ready? 

We could point to existing blockchains where transactions settle in under a second and cost less than a fraction of a penny. 

These innovations aren’t new—they’ve been around for a while. 

However, in 2024, many of these blockchains proved their readiness by attracting real users and liquidity. 

While that’s a step in the right direction, it’s still not the strongest signal that blockchains are ready for prime time.

What has truly changed in 2024—and what gives us much stronger confidence—is the unprecedented interest and adoption of blockchain technology among major corporations and industry giants.

Put simply, when dozens of publicly traded companies—each valued in the tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars—begin announcing blockchain integrations or building on this technology, that’s about as strong of a signal as you can get.

These companies aren’t known for jumping on trends quickly. 

In fact, large corporations are often slow to adopt new technologies due to internal policies, bureaucratic processes, and the risks involved. 

And yet, in 2024, we’ve seen an unprecedented wave of blockchain adoption by some of the world’s biggest players:

• BlackRock ($160 billion market cap) launched a tokenized version of one of their products: $BUIDL.

• PayPal ($90 billion market cap) rolled out their own stablecoin, **$**PYUSD.

• Sony ($130 billion market cap) announced the development of their L2 called Soneium.

And it doesn’t stop there—companies like Visa, Stripe, Deutsche Bank, Venmo, LimeWire, Revolut, Robinhood, and many others have all started integrating blockchain technology or building products onchain. 

That’s huuuge! But we need to understand why it is so freaking positive.

Well because blockchains alone aren’t going to change the world. 

They’re just “infrastructure”—superior infrastructure with unique features—but they need to be recognized and embraced by the big players to truly make an impact.

These big players are the ones with the users, the liquidity, and the resources needed to bring billions of people onchain. 

Without their involvement, blockchain technology would remain a niche innovation. 

But when they see the potential and start building on it, that’s when the real transformation begins. 

And in 2024, we believe that transformation has already started.

Some companies see the huge opportunity, while others don’t really have a choice—they have to adopt and use this new technology, or risk falling behind and putting their businesses in danger.

Take Visa, for example. Right now, Visa processes about $1.3 trillion in payments every month. But if you look at stablecoins, their onchain volumes are already pretty much at the same level. 

[

Source: ChainCatcher

Today, stablecoins process around $1.2 trillion in monthly volumes onchain—a massive 3x increase compared to 2021. 

This explosive growth shows how quickly blockchain-based payments are gaining traction and reshaping the financial landscape.

So again, some companies see the opportunity and are jumping in willingly, while others (like Visa) have no choice but to adapt, as the market is pushing them to embrace this new technology—or risk being quickly disrupted by it.

Either way, the transformation is happening, and we’re excited to witness it in real time. 🥳

Now, let’s switch gears a little and talk about users. Because users are at the heart of everything. 

At the end of the day, users are the ones who drive markets and economies forward by paying for the products and services that they use.

And while we’ve already discussed the institutional adoption of blockchain technology, what about the users and kind of retail adoption? 

Are there any real incentives for them to come onchain and start using blockchain-based apps? 

MAINSTREAM APPS

This is a great question. And before we answer, let’s take a look at the chart of daily active addresses. 

[

Source: @TokenTerminal

There are around 18.7 million daily active addresses today, compared to the beginning of 2024—a 2.5x increase in a year. 

While we know this metric isn’t perfect, as an address doesn’t necessarily represent a unique user, what really matters here is the trend. 

And the trend clearly shows that onchain activity is accelerating rapidly.

This trend reinforces our belief that there are some truly great onchain products out there—products that people find useful and genuinely want to use.

We see two main reasons why people are starting to use apps on blockchains:

1/ Superior Products

Blockchains offer better versions of traditional products—whether it’s faster transactions, lower costs, better security or 24/7 worldwide access. They outperform what’s typically available in the traditional world.

This category is best represented by products like stablecoins or lending platforms. 

For example, I recently sent $840 from my bank to my Revolut account, only to realize I paid $10 to my sending bank, another $30 to Revolut, and ended up with $800—after three days. 

Compare that to sending the same amount in stablecoins on a blockchain, where it would cost just a few cents and arrive within seconds.

It seems I’m not the only one feeling this frustration and looking for better options. 

In fact, we have proof. The stablecoin total market cap has already hit new all-time highs showing clear uptrend.

[

Source: TheBlock

Stablecoins recently broke past the $200 billion mark! 

Despite all the FUD and the massive $20 billion collapse from Terra Luna back in 2022, stablecoins have been climbing steadily ever since hitting a bottom around $140 billion. 

If you’re searching for a real signal in all the noise—keep an eye on stablecoin supply growth!

Here is another example of a great product:

Think about your savings account—how much yield are you earning there? 

Is it anywhere close to 10% or more? Probably not. But on lending platforms built on blockchains, double-digit yields are a reality for many users.

Ok, but what has changed in 2024? Glad you asked, because many products weren’t new. 

What did change, though, is that these superior products are now widely available on all retail-focused blockchains—those fast and cheap chains designed for everyday users. 

(Think: Solana or Base).

This was hardly the case before, but now these solutions are more accessible than ever to the average person.

And then there is that second category type of demand. 

2/ Unique Products 

Blockchains enable entirely new products and services that don’t exist off-chain. Let’s show you some examples of products which were built in 2024:

Ethena

Have you ever heard of carry trades or delta-neutral strategies? No? Don’t worry—you’re not alone. 

These are highly profitable strategies that, until now, were mostly reserved for the big players in traditional finance.

But here’s the exciting part: you can access these strategies—and, more importantly, the yields they generate (which is currently 27% per year). 🥳

That’s exactly what Ethena has built, and they’re seeing massive success with it. 

Demand for their product is through the roof, and their supply is skyrocketing as more people flock to this insanely profitable strategy.

Polymarket

Do you bet sometimes? It is ok if you don't. But a lot of people around the world do bet. And Polymarket lets you bet on almost anything. Here are some examples below.

[

Source: Polymarket

We call them "prediction markets," where you can actually see the bets—essentially, what people are predicting will happen with their own money. 

These platforms have seen huge success, especially during the US election. 

Over 2 million addresses have already interacted with them, showing just how much people love using Polymarket.

Pump.Fun

Everyone’s heard about memecoins because, let’s face it, people love them. 

And honestly, we’re not here to judge what anyone should or shouldn’t do with their own money. 

If people enjoy gambling on memecoins because it’s fun or they love the adrenaline rush, that’s totally fine.

What really excites us, though, is when this activity happens onchain. 

Platforms like Pump.Fun, which let users easily create and launch their own memecoins, are a perfect example of this trend. In fact, more than 2.4 million unique addresses have already interacted with it—proving just how popular this kind of onchain fun has become.

We’ve just given you a quick sneak peek at some of the apps that are not only possible onchain but are also only possible onchain__. 

These apps had a breakthrough year in 2024, showing what the new unlocks with this technology are. 

But this is just a fraction of what’s happening. 

There’s so much going on, and depending on your interests and appetite, you can always find something incredibly useful—or just plain fun—onchain.

There’s still so much left to explore and build, but we believe we’ve already reached a point where the products available today can satisfy a huge number of users. 

So let’s put it all together and share some final thoughts. 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

We started today by saying that we’re entering the golden age of crypto. Hopefully, the reasons for this are much clearer by now. 

To drive the point home, here’s one chart that’s worth a thousand words—it shows the technology adoption lifecycle.

[

Source: ProductCompass

On the chart above, the ‘chasm’ phase represents the difficult gap between visionary early adopters—who embrace innovation for its potential—and the more pragmatic early majority, who want proof of real-world use cases, reliability, and ease of use. 

With a supportive, pro-crypto environment encouraging founders, the rise of faster and more cost-effective blockchains, and the emergence of superior and unique onchain products, crypto has successfully crossed the chasm (see the red circle). 

As the technology begins to resonate with the more pragmatic early majority, we can now usher in what can truly be called the golden age of crypto.

So yeah we’ve come a long way, and it looks like the toughest days are behind us. 

The future seems bright, and Trump’s role in shifting the U.S. from resisting crypto to actively supporting it will likely be far bigger than most people currently expect. 

While this shift may not be widely noticed yet, the ripple effects are sure to be significant.

With that in mind, when we consider the total crypto market cap and how far the industry has come, even in the face of strong headwinds, it’s truly remarkable.

[

Source: IntoCryptoverse/X

We’re currently at a total crypto market cap of $3.5 trillion. 

But now, as we begin to attract the “Early Majority” — a waaay bigger audience than crypto has ever reached before — this is the perfect time for us as investors to be involved. 

Suddenly, the chart above might not look so unrealistic anymore, since we have strong tailwinds that could push our bags muuuch higher.

Congratulations to all of us who made it through these incredibly tough years. Let’s seize the opportunities ahead, as crypto is poised to hit $10 trillion and eventually $100 trillion.

This is one of the greatest wealth generation opportunities of our lifetime. From now on, it is time to lock in. Bear market or not, you do not leave, you continue to learn, experiment and get better.

This is your moment.

[

Source: MrZackMorris/X

And when we look back a few years from now, we’ll see that 2024 was the pivotal year that signaled a major turning point for the crypto industry.

And remember—you’re in the right place at the right time. The opportunity is huge, and while it’s not rocket science to capitalize on it, only a few truly succeed.

So stay patient, challenge yourself, and avoid the common mistakes that hold others back.

Take care!

AI-GENERATED PODCAST 🤖

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Disclaimer: This podcast was created using AI and is based on the research report above. While we've done our best to ensure accuracy, the audio may contain minor errors, technical glitches, or mispronunciations. Please note that this podcast provides an overview of the report and is not a comprehensive or definitive take on the topic.

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