The 6 Funniest Crypto Stories of 2024

Altcoins Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies DOGE Elon Musk Hamster kombat

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Connor Sephton

Features writer

Connor Sephton

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Connor Sephton is a journalist based in London, who also works for Sky News and the BBC as a radio newsreader and online reporter. He has covered crypto since 2018 — reporting from major conferences...

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Elena Bozhkova

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Elena Bozhkova

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Elena is the Features Lead at Cryptonews.com. With a Master's degree in science journalism from City University, London, she is passionate about exploring complex topics in the world of technology.

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Last updated: 

December 26, 2024

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We’ve already looked at the best crypto stories of the year, as well as the worst, with a little dash of audacious crime for good measure.

But there’s a whole other category that deserves a feature of its own: the funny, crazy and downright bizarre headlines we saw in 2024.

From aching thumbs to entire government departments being named after fluffy mascots, let’s look at the stories you just couldn’t make up.

1. The $6.2 Million Banana

What better place to start than with Justin Sun, who decided that the best way to spend his vast wealth was on a banana disguised as “artwork.”

The sorry-looking piece of fruit — duct-taped to a wall at an exhibition in Miami a few years back — was auctioned off in New York.

Sotheby’s estimated it would fetch up to $1.5 million (a ridiculous sum as it is) but Sun blew that crazy valuation out of the water.

The TRON founder and mega billionaire paid a whopping $6.2 million for the banana, only to eat it at a luxury hotel in Hong Kong.

How did a banana more expensive than a London penthouse taste, you might ask? “It’s really quite good,” Sun said. IS THAT IT?!

As I wrote at the time, the entrepreneur’s stunt sparked a backlash among consumers who can only dream about such a life-changing sum of money.

A funny story, yes… but in a sad way.

2. Tap-to-Earn Mania

Aside from Bitcoin breaking $100,000 for the first time, there’s one thing I’ll never forget about 2024: how the crypto world went wild over Hamster Kombat.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 12 months, this is a Telegram game that promised players rewards if they tapped furiously on a screen every day for weeks. Hardly a thrilling gaming experience.

Nonetheless, the promise of a future airdrop saw Hamster Kombat’s user base swell to a staggering 300 million. Sales of massage guns in Russia surged by 179% as determined players tried to game the system. An Iranian military official described the mini-app as “one of the features of the soft war by the enemy.”

When the airdrop finally came, 2.3 million cheaters were disqualified — but those still eligible for tokens were furious. One Reddit poster said: “After grinding for what felt for ever, i got the full 13,80€ to show up for it. Never should have wasted my time on this s***.”

As you’d expect, Hamster Kombat’s popularity was even shorter than the typical lifespan of a hamster. The game’s user base had plunged by over 80% to just 41 million by November as degens chased The Next Big Thing.

3. DOGE Grows Up

I’m old enough to remember when DOGE was a meme coin — one of the OGs — a joke cryptocurrency riffing off a fluffy shiba inu.

Fast forward to now, and it’s surreal to write this, it’s now going to be a part of the U.S. government. Kind of.

Back in 2020 and 2021, Elon Musk played an instrumental role in helping DOGE embark on an extraordinary rally — from $0.005 to $0.74.

And with Donald Trump heading into the White House on January 20, he’s going to lead DOGE… the Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk’s stated goal, along with fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, is to slash spending in the federal government and cut down on waste.

While the Tesla CEO and X owner hasn’t tweeted about crypto in some time, his timeline is now inundated with DOGE memes once again.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how all of this pans out in 2025 — and there’s a decent chance it’ll all end in tears.

4. The Teenage Rug Puller

Another funny (but also not funny) story comes courtesy of pump.fun, the meme coin platform where anyone can create their own cryptocurrency in a couple of clicks.

Back in November, a 15-year-old trader launched a token called QUANT, hosted a livestream, and rug-pulled his viewers. Flipping up his middle finger to the camera, he said: “Holy f***, thanks for the 20 bandos.”

All told, he made about $50,000 from his flurry of meme coins — but the crypto community soon got their own back by driving up trading volumes. If the greedy teenager had held on to his tokens, they would have been worth $4 million. That’s one way to teach him a lesson.

5. THAT Satoshi Documentary

Let’s rewind back to October now, when a HBO documentary boldly proclaimed that it was about to unmask Bitcoin’s pseudonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.

Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery made some exceedingly big promises about solving this cryptocurrency’s biggest riddle. The 100-minute-long show concluded that the man responsible is called Peter Todd.

Unfortunately, and rather comically, few Bitcoiners were convinced.

Todd issued a staunch denial and described the evidence against him as “flimsy.” Critics accused the documentary maker of putting innocent people at risk of danger too, but Cullen Hoback stood by his findings.

6. Microsoft Rejecting Bitcoin

In past bull runs, crypto enthusiasts were obsessed about whether major retailers would start to accept Bitcoin as a payment method. Rumors used to fly around — speculating that Amazon, Apple or Walmart would be next.

All of that’s changed now. Instead, gossip focuses on the huge firms that might follow in MicroStrategy’s footsteps by adding BTC to its balance sheet.

Amazon has faced calls to use some of its vast cash piles to invest in this digital asset, with critics arguing the eCommerce giant is failing in its fiduciary duties by letting dollars in the bank be eroded by inflation.

Microsoft went one step further — and let its shareholders vote on the matter. However, the company’s board recommended against gaining exposure to Bitcoin, arguing this asset class had already been considered.

Despite a slick three-minute presentation from MicroStrategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor, the result was pretty definitive.

A jaw-dropping 99.45% opted against aping into BTC — that’s 5.148 billion votes — with a mere 0.55% (28.2 million) in favor.

That’s an almighty thrashing, and proof that Bitcoiners still have a long way to go before they win around the biggest institutions.