Bitcoin has surged 22% this year, reaching $52,005 and surpassing a $1 trillion market value for the first time since late 2021. This rally has sparked excitement across the cryptocurrency market, with the total market cap now over $2 trillion, according to CoinGecko. The growth is partly due to U.S. regulatory approval for bitcoin ETFs by major firms like BlackRock and Fidelity, offering easier access to bitcoin through traditional stock exchanges. These ETFs have significantly contributed to the demand, acquiring 60,000 bitcoins in their first month, doubling the output of miners, as reported by Bernstein.
Trading activity in the crypto space remains high, with centralized exchanges seeing a 4.4% increase in total spot trading volumes to $1.4 trillion in January, marking the highest level since June 2022, per CCData.
Looking ahead, the anticipation of bitcoin’s “halving” in April, which cuts mining rewards by half every four years, has investors optimistic. Bernstein’s analyst Gautam Chhugani predicts 2024 as a pivotal year for cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin potentially reaching $150,000 by mid-2025, driven by the halving event and potential interest-rate cuts. Despite being 32% below its peak of $69,000, bitcoin recently hit a record high against the Japanese yen.
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