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12 Key Moments That Fueled Crypto's Record Growth in 2021

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The first-ever digital currency continues to top the crypto charts, though its dominance is...

In 2021, the cryptocurrency market experienced unprecedented growth, with the total market capitalization soaring from $250 billion to over $3 trillion. This surge was fueled by a number of key moments, including:

• January: Tesla announces $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase. This major investment by a mainstream company signaled to the world that Bitcoin was a legitimate investment.
• February: Coinbase goes public. The direct listing of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States gave cryptocurrencies a major boost in legitimacy.
• March: Ether surpasses $2,000. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, reached a then-all-time high, driven by the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi).
• April: NFTs explode in popularity. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which represent unique digital assets, became a hot commodity, with some selling for millions of dollars.
li>May: Bitcoin reaches $64,000. Bitcoin hit a record high of $64,895 in April, driven by increased institutional adoption.
• June: China cracks down on crypto mining. China's crackdown on cryptocurrency mining led to a sharp drop in the Bitcoin hashrate, temporarily disrupting the network.
• July: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as legal tender. El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, a major step forward for mainstream adoption.
• August: Bitcoin ETF approved in the US. The SEC approved the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), allowing investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without having to buy the cryptocurrency directly.
• September: Ethereum completes the London hard fork. The London hard fork implemented a number of changes to the Ethereum network, including a reduction in transaction fees.
• October: Binance Smart Chain surpasses Ethereum in daily transactions. Binance Smart Chain, a rival blockchain to Ethereum, briefly surpassed Ethereum in daily transactions, highlighting the competition in the smart contract platform space.
• November: Bitcoin and Ethereum reach new all-time highs. Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $68,990 in November, while Ethereum hit a new all-time high of $4,891.
• December: Crypto market capitalization exceeds $3 trillion. The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market surpassed $3 trillion in December, capping off a year of unprecedented growth.