Thomas Daniels
Over $19 trillion worth of transactions were completed on the Bitcoin network in 2024, a significant increase from $8.7 trillion in 2023. According to data provided by Pierre Rochard, vice president of research at Riot Platforms, this was a reversal of the dropping transaction volumes that have been observed before 2021.
Rochard emphasized Bitcoin’s expanding usefulness by highlighting its dual function as a means of commerce and a store of value:
“The Bitcoin network finalized more than $19 trillion worth of BTC transactions in 2024, decisively proving that Bitcoin is both a store of value and a medium of exchange.”
This comeback follows steep drops in 2022 and 2023 after Bitcoin’s transaction volumes peaked at $47 trillion during the 2021 bull market.
In 2024, Bitcoin’s market value surpassed silver’s $1.6 trillion valuation, reaching $1.9 trillion. Thanks to important events like the April 2024 halving event and the introduction of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, its price reached an all-time high of about $108,000.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $98,536, indicating that investors are still confident.
The hashrate of the Bitcoin network, which measures the total amount of processing power protecting the blockchain, reached a record-breaking 1,000 exahashes per second (EH/s) on January 3, 2025. Even though the hashrate has since stabilized around 775 EH/s, it nevertheless highlights how quickly the Bitcoin network is expanding.
In 2024, more than 40% of the world’s hashrate came from mining pools situated in the United States. Foundry USA and MARA Pool were the two main pools that accounted for 38.5% of all blocks mined in the year. In spite of this, the majority of hashrate distribution was still controlled by mining pools situated in China.
Because Bitcoin is decentralized and pseudonymous, it is still difficult to pinpoint hashrate supremacy. While individual miners provide electricity from different places, mining pool operators may operate internationally. Furthermore, the geographic origins of miners are obscured by techniques such as virtual private networks (VPNs), making it more difficult to precisely estimate country-specific contributions.
Bitcoin’s record-breaking year demonstrates its tenacity and expanding user base, securing its place as a key asset in the international financial system.
