Weird & memorable crypto news headlines of 2021

It seems safe to say that 2021 saw some major crypto news headlines. The year overall was a great one for cryptocurrency and DeFi. It saw explosive growth of the global crypto market cap as a whole, exciting new projects making their way into the top 10 biggest cryptos, and more stories of institutional adoption than in previous years.

Take a trip down memory lane with these nine crypto headlines to see how far the crypto market has progressed in 2021.

1. El Salvador mines Bitcoin with volcanoes 

One of the most interesting crypto news headlines from the year was when El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as official legal currency in the country in September 2021. A month later, the Central American nation announced plans to start mining Bitcoin using the natural geothermal energy of its volcanoes. 

This story was memorable because Bitcoin is notorious for being extremely unsustainable for the environment. The fact that El Salvador was able to find an energy-efficient way to mine Bitcoin was exciting news for Bitcoin’s progress in becoming accepted in mainstream society.

2. Ether up 1,000% since 2020

Another memorable story was when the Ether cryptocurrency saw a 1,000% increase in price in late October 2021 compared to the same time in 2020. Back then, ETH was a little under $400. By 2021, it reached a new all-time high of a little over $4,400. This sort of explosive growth was a great news story because it showed Ether’s growth rate outperforming Bitcoin. 

If this continues into 2022, some speculate it could mean Ether replacing Bitcoin as the largest cryptocurrency. While the DeFi platform still has a long way to go to get to the top, the expected completion of its Ethereum 2.0 upgrade to a proof-of-stake blockchain could potentially be what it needs to take it there.

3. Miami becoming a Bitcoin city

Another unforgettable story was when the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, announced plans to pay residents a “Bitcoin yield.” While Suarez called it Bitcoin, the actual payments would be dividends received from staking the city’s official crypto: MiamiCoin. 

This story was exciting because it shows how crypto is gaining more institutional acceptance in the U.S. After Miami, New York City announced its own coin: NYC Coin. And mayors of both cities announced plans to take their paychecks in Bitcoin. It’ll be interesting to see if any other cities jump on this trend in 2022.

4. Facebook whistleblower supports herself financially with crypto

In October, Frances Haugen left her job as product manager at Facebook and became a whistleblower, exposing how the tech giant prioritizes profit over its users’ wellbeing. 

What makes this story newsworthy in the crypto world is that Haugen revealed that despite leaving her job, she was supporting herself financially through her own crypto investments, even announcing that she had left for Puerto Rico, which is known among crypto investors as a tax haven. This shows how cryptocurrency has the potential to support someone who lost a job or is otherwise in need of financial support.

5. Bitcoin reached more transaction volume than PayPal

In the first quarter of 2021, Bitcoin surpassed PayPal in terms of transaction volume, handling 62% more transactions in terms of dollar value. However, if Bitcoin wants to compete with MasterCard and Visa, it will need to find a way to scale its blockchain technology to handle a higher number of transactions, a problem it is already working on solving with the Lightning Network. 

While Bitcoin is still far behind MasterCard and Visa, this story is one of the most exciting crypto news headlines of the year because it shows how the Bitcoin network is growing and being used by more people. As crypto becomes more mainstream, this number is bound to keep growing.

6. El Salvador to build Bitcoin schools

With the profits of the Salvadoran government’s Bitcoin trust account, the Central American country announced plans to create 20 “Bitcoin schools.” This move is interesting because educating people about cryptocurrency is an important step to helping those who are unbanked access the financial services they need. 

El Salvador also used some of its profits to create a total of 400 schools and a veterinary hospital. This story and El Salvador’s experiment with Bitcoin as a whole will be an exciting one to watch in the new year.

7. U.S. passed China as the largest Bitcoin mining hub

Up until China banned cryptocurrency mining in May of 2021, it was the country with the highest Bitcoin hash rate, at 67%. Once the ban took effect, many Bitcoin miners ended up moving to the U.S. This increased the U.S.’s Bitcoin mining hash rate from just a little over 4% at the end of 2020 to 35% by the same time in 2021. 

This story is memorable because with China no longer dominating the Bitcoin mining industry, it opens the doors for other countries to compete to host the industry within their borders. It’ll be interesting to see how this affects the blockchain industry in 2022.

8. Crypto market in Africa grows by 1,200%

Another interesting story in the crypto news headlines of 2021 was that the cryptocurrency market in Africa soared by 1,200%, with an overall value of $105.6 billion. Specifically, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania made it into the top 20 countries with the highest crypto adoption rate. And compared to the crypto adoption rates of all other continents around the world, Africa as a whole had the third-highest rate. 

This was a fascinating story because it shows how cryptocurrency and DeFi continue to grow in other countries, especially in places where people are looking for a way to protect their finances against inflation.

9. SQUID token scam

Last but not least, who could forget the Squid Game cryptocurrency scam? This was one of the largest crypto news headlines of the year, with the story getting picked up by major news outlets. The SQUID token was a pump and dump scheme, with the coin’s creators quickly cashing out all their shares and stealing a little over $2 million from investors. 

While there were clear indicators it was a scam from the beginning, this story was still memorable because it showed what can happen in the crypto world if you aren’t careful where you invest your money.

What will the crypto news headlines look like next year?

It seems likely that the crypto market will continue to experience some of the same growth in 2022 as it saw in 2021. 

More institutions and politicians may start embracing cryptocurrency, which could help make it more widespread as a payment source in everyday life. On the other hand, more acceptance in mainstream society could come with more regulation, a topic that has been widely discussed in the crypto community. 

The new year could also see some blockchain projects getting even better. For example, Ethereum’s 2.0 upgrade is expected to be completed sometime in 2022, which has the potential to launch ETH to even higher prices. Some have even speculated that 2022 could be the year it overtakes Bitcoin. But whatever happens, it seems like the progress made by the crypto economy, blockchain technology, and the DeFi industry will only keep growing in 2022!