Crypto was not much known to a common man or small scale investors till the digital currencies in the basket, including the oldest and most-traded – bitcoin, broke all records to touch a new life-time high especially after Donald Trump’s win in the November 5, 2024 US Presidential election.

But before understanding about a strong comeback, let us understand what cryptocurrency is.

Cryptocurrency is a virtual or digital currency and is not in a physical coin or bill based. It can be used to buy goods and services and all the transactions take place online.

Cryptocurrency runs on the system of cryptography.

However, before 2024, crypto was just a fringe sideshow for the investing public. Now, crypto assets like bitcoin can now be owned and traded by Americans like a stock.

What gave more boost to cryptocurrency is the assurance of major legislative changes by the incoming administration in Washington to support the industry.

Investors who were holding bitcoin are up 130 per cent since the beginning of the year as the price of the largest cryptocurrency broke all records and surged past $100,000 following Trump’s triumph in November 2024 presidential elections. As per Coinmarketcap, the market value of all crypto rose by nearly $1.7 trillion.

Another factor that helped crypto surge was the US SEC approving Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs earlier in the year. Following this financial giants including BlackRock and Fidelity significantly increased their crypto investments.

It was because of this, bitcoin rallied earlier in the year too as it witnessed massive demand from newly launched spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Also, enhanced blockchain infrastructure, with improved scalability and security features, attracted a host of new users.

Crypto’s upward movement began around the US Presidential election, when Trump promised to establish a crypto presidential advisory committee to draft robust regulations, enable individuals to mine bitcoin, allow self-custody of digital assets, and reduce government oversight.

He also proposed the idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve to position the US as the dominant “Bitcoin superpower.” The US President also proposed leveraging bitcoin reserves to reduce the US’ national debt.

Most of us associate with bitcoin when we hear about cryptocurrency, however, Pepe – a token inspired by the meme frog – emerged as the top performer with a market capatilisation surpassing $5 billion.

Pepe soared by a staggering 1,570.7 per cent, reaching a market cap of $9 billion.

Similarly, SUI, the native token for the Sui blockchain, posted a remarkable 509 per cent gain. According to Forbes report, Dogecoin, a favorite among meme coin enthusiasts and promoted by Elon Musk, surged 333.1 per cent.

Meme coins including Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were among the major contributors to the expansion of the crypto market in 2024.

After a well performing 2024, market participants are positive about the cryptocurrency prospects for 2025 as the Trump-led administration returns to the White House.

Most of the analysts and experts see bitcoin to reach $200,000 by the end of 2025.