Janice R. Andrews
The price of Bitcoin has unexpectedly risen beyond $50,000, which is a critical turning point in the currency’s rebound from its December 2016 low of around $20,000.
Although Bitcoin hasn’t yet reached its peak, which was over $69,000 in November 2021, cryptocurrency experts are certain that the current surge may surpass that record.
There are several reasons for the 2024 price of Bitcoin to rise, such as increased demand and a forthcoming supply reduction. Notably, the first-ever spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin were approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January. The cryptocurrency has already attracted institutional investment worth billions of dollars thanks to this historic ruling.
In addition, there is a “halving” occurrence that is imminent. The incentives for mining the cryptocurrency will be halved as a result of this occurrence, which is ingrained in the Bitcoin network. Each half event, which happens about every four years, has historically been accompanied by significant price increases. The expectation of the next April halving, which is the next in line, has led to an increase in interest among buyers in Bitcoin.
The CEO of the cryptocurrency platform Lolli, Alex Adelman, highlights how the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies is being driven by greater demand from the general public, especially from Bitcoin ETFs. According to Adelman, “The biggest financial firms in the world are now actively buying bitcoin to cover record-breaking inflows for bitcoin ETFs, providing new sustained tailwinds for bitcoin.”
Prominent market analyst PlanB has also highlighted the coincidence between the ETF clearance and the impending halving event, indicating in a tweet a possible upward trajectory with rocket emojis.
Renowned for his Stock-to-Flow model, which has been useful in predicting past market cycles, PlanB has a sizable social media following of about two million people.
Recent price increases for Bitcoin have sparked hopeful “moon” forecasts among cryptocurrency aficionados, with some speculating that the cryptocurrency may someday surpass gold in market valuation.
With a market valuation of over $980 billion, Bitcoin is presently the tenth most valuable asset in the world, $300 billion less than silver, according to statistics from CompaniesMarketCap. But it still has a long way to go before it can approach the enormous $13.1 trillion market value of gold.
The fact that Bitcoin has surpassed the $50,000 milestone and that a number of positive events, such the adoption of ETFs and the upcoming halving, are converging, highlights the durability of the currency and its potential for further development. The cryptocurrency community is optimistic about Bitcoin’s future prospects, even though obstacles stand in the way of its ability to compete traditional assets like gold. This marks the beginning of a new age in the building of digital wealth.
