The Institutional Era (2024–2026): Spot ETFs, Halving, and Beyond

What you'll learn

• 2024: The ETF Era Begins
• 2025: Trump, Bybit, and Cycle Peak
• 2026 (Through May): Consolidation
• For Deeper Reading

Key terms

Spot Bitcoin ETFs (Jan 11, 2024)

11 simultaneous approvals on January 10, 2024; trading began January 11. Cumulative inflows ~$58B by April 2026; total AUM ~$102B. BlackRock IBIT dominates ~$62B (~49% market share).

Spot Ethereum ETFs (July 23, 2024)

SEC approved 19b-4 forms May 23, 2024; launched July 23. BlackRock ETHA hit $10B AUM in ~1 year (3rd-fastest ETF history). First-year cumulative inflows ~$8.7B.

Bitcoin halving #4

April 19/20, 2024 at block 840,000. Block reward dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Daily issuance fell from ~900 to ~450 BTC.

EIP-4844 / Dencun

Ethereum upgrade activated March 13, 2024. Blob-carrying transactions reduced L2 fees ~90% (e.g., Arbitrum DEX swaps $2.02 → $0.40).

BlackRock BUIDL

BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund. Launched March 2024 via Securitize. $2B+ AUM by March 2026. Tokenized money market fund on Ethereum (and other chains via Wormhole).

Trump January 2025 EO

Executive order signed January 23, 2025 banning retail CBDC, establishing Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, and broadly pivoting US policy pro-crypto.

Bybit hack (Feb 21, 2025)

Approximately 400,000 ETH (~$1.5B) stolen. Largest crypto heist in history. FBI confirmed Lazarus Group/DPRK attribution February 26, 2025.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve EO

Trump executive order signed March 6, 2025. Capitalized via forfeited BTC (~200,000); Digital Asset Stockpile includes ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA. No sales policy.

Tornado Cash delisting

March 21, 2025: Treasury OFAC officially lifted sanctions following the 5th Circuit November 2024 ruling. Major win for crypto privacy advocates.

GENIUS Act

First US federal stablecoin framework. Senate 68-30 (June 17, 2025); House (July 17); Trump signed July 18, 2025. Requires 100% reserves, monthly disclosures, AML compliance.

1 Zettahash hashrate (Sep 2025)

September 2, 2025: Bitcoin's 7-day average hashrate crossed 1 zettahash per second (1 ZH/s = 1,000 EH/s) for the first time. Historic milestone.

BTC ATH $126,210

October 6, 2025 — Bitcoin all-time high (as of May 2026). Followed by ~50% drawdown to $60,074 by February 2026.