Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

2021: the year crypto went mainstream

2021: the year crypto went mainstream

Cryptocurrency investment is not for the faint of heart – bitcoin had another volatile year, soaring from $29,405 at the beginning of the year to as high as $67,554 on Nov. and was trading at $50,908 on Friday.
Yet, 2021 was the year that more people were exposed to the world of crypto than ever before. Most famously, El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender, while in a huge development for financial markets, the first exchange-traded fund tied to bitcoin futures also began to trade.

Studies show that about 13 percent to 14 percent of Americans now own or have owned cryptocurrencies.

It has caught the attention of regulators in a major way. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was asked about bitcoin at her confirmation hearing. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has called it the “Wild West.”

At the beginning of the year, there was about $25 billion invested in decentralized finance projects, such as decentralized exchanges and lending/borrowing platforms. Now it’s $100 billion.

The market cap of the top five stablecoins — Tether, UDS Coin, Binance USD, Terra USD, and Dai — is $152 billion.

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) moved ahead, bringing real-time payments a step closer.

Leading the pack is China’s digital yuan, which came out of the testing phase as is set to launch in tome for the Winter Olympics in Beijing this February. While it is not the first country to have a CBDC — the Bahamian Sand Dollar came first – but China’s project has got other central banks moving and now 87 institutions, including the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, are exploring their own.

However, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell are yet to be convinced of the need for a digital dollar.

China also put itself of crypto markets by banning crypto trading and mining, forcing companies and investors to shift en masse to other countries.

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) leapt into the mainstream with the $69 million sale of NFT collage by artist Beeple at Christie’s in May. Since then, sports brands, including football and basketball clubs and brands such as Adidas, have jumped in with their own tokens that give ownership of digital images and video.

US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase launched its IDO — an initial direct offering, similar to an initial public offering (IPO) but without financial middlemen — on Nasdaq in April, making it the first crypto industry firm to go public without using a reverse merger, known as a SPAC.

The industry most at risk from the rise of cryptocurrencies is finance, so it’s notable how many banks started to dip their toes in the market this year. Major banks and other financial institutions started to offer crypto investments to wealthy customers while beginning to look at custody services real-time payments using cryptos or CBDCs.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
×