The crypto market moves towards mainstream, 22 authoritative awards born

2024 is an important year for the encryption industry to move towards the mainstream. The successful listing of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs has opened the doors to traditional finance. After the Bitcoin halving, the price surged, and mainstream media attention significantly increased. The liquidity of stablecoins continues to grow, and on-chain activities are heating up. Meme coins are rising, and the MEME cycle is in full explosion. The combination of AI and encryption has become a new hotspot, and Agent has become a new standard configuration for trading.

Against this backdrop, a well-known media outlet held an annual selection event themed "Becoming Mainstream", aiming to recognize outstanding projects, teams, and individuals that have promoted the industry into the mainstream spotlight. After more than a month of registration, voting, and professional evaluation, a total of 141 projects/companies and 10 individuals stood out and received 22 authoritative annual awards.

The selection results are as follows:

Annual Outstanding Contribution Award

Bitcoin, Base, and Solana have received the Annual Outstanding Contribution Award, recognizing their exceptional performance in technological innovation, ecological development, market influence, and community building.

Annual Innovation Award

ai16z, Ethena, Fractal Bitcoin, GMGNAi, GOAT, Hyperliquid, Mind Network, Polymarket, Pump.fun, and Virtuals Protocol have won the Annual Innovation Award, recognizing their innovations in areas such as new technological mechanisms, economic models, business models, investment models, and asset issuance methods.

Annual Application Award

Select the annual best applications in seven categories: 45 in total.

• Annual Best DeFi: Aave, Ethena and other 10 projects
• Annual Best Web3 Games: Big Time, Blocklords, and 5 other projects
• Best Web3 Social of the Year: 5 projects including Farcaster, Lens Protocol, etc.
• Annual Best RWA: 5 projects including MANTRA, Ondo Finance, etc.
• Annual Best DePIN: DBunker, Grass and 3 other projects
• Annual Best AI + Web3 Integration: ai16z, DIN and other 5 projects
• Most Popular NFTs of the Year: Azuki, Bitcoin Puppets and 3 other projects

Annual Infrastructure Award

Select 20 Best Infrastructure of the Year:

• Best L1 of the Year: Some Chain, Ethereum, Solana and other 5 projects
• Best L2 of the Year: Some L2, Some Chain, Mint Blockchain and other 5 projects
• Best Tools of the Year: BlockPI, CoinGlass and 10 other projects

Most Promising Projects in the Ecosystem

Select 25 of the most promising projects in the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and TON ecosystems.

Most Popular MEME of the Year

AIXBT, BOME, CHILLGUY and 7 other MEME coins have been selected as the most popular MEME of the year.

Most Influential KOL of the Year

Ansem, Biteye, dingaling, and 10 other KOLs have been selected as the most influential KOLs of the year.

Most Influential Web3 Conference of the Year

Bitcoin2024, BREAK POINT 2024 and 3 other conferences have been selected as the most influential Web3 conferences of the year.

Best Investment Institutions of the Year

A well-known investment institution, Alliance and 10 other institutions have been selected as the Best Investment Institutions of the Year.

Best Exchange of the Year

A well-known exchange, Bitget and 8 other exchanges were selected as the best exchanges of the year.

PANews Best Column

The columns by Arthur Hayes, NingNing, and 10 other authors have been selected as the best columns by PANews.

2024 is seen as a critical turning point in the encryption field. The entry of Wall Street giants, Bitcoin halving, regulatory clarity, institutional allocation, and the U.S. elections are multiple factors that bring new growth opportunities and diversified narratives to the industry. In 2025, cryptocurrencies are expected to gain broader recognition in the global financial system. This selection aims to showcase new trends and potential in the industry, encouraging more pioneers to participate in the long-term construction of the ecosystem.