USA, Jan 1 (Alliance News): Bitcoin has seen an unprecedented surge in 2024, more than doubling in value, driven by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the cryptocurrency’s spot price and renewed optimism due to Donald Trump’s political prospects.
Reaching $100,000 last month, Bitcoin hit a major milestone, igniting excitement among its supporters and fueling a broader rally in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin’s 120% surge and nearly 50% jump in ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, have propelled the digital asset sector’s total market value to approximately $3.5 trillion, according to CoinGecko data.
As a result of this performance, analysts are bullish about continued growth, with Bernstein forecasting that Bitcoin could reach a cycle-high of $200,000 by late 2025.
MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has seen its shares surge nearly five-fold this year, becoming closely tied to Bitcoin’s performance. Analysts anticipate Bitcoin will replace gold as a “store of value” and establish itself as a significant part of institutional multi-asset portfolios within the next decade.
The optimism surrounding Bitcoin’s price surge began early in the year after the SEC approved ETFs that track Bitcoin’s spot price. This move provided institutional legitimacy to the cryptocurrency industry and boosted its appeal to mainstream financial institutions, including BlackRock and Fidelity.
Additionally, the rise in Bitcoin’s value gained momentum after Trump’s political victories, as he promised to position the US as the “crypto capital of the planet,” attracting millions of dollars in donations from crypto advocates.
While stocks of major companies like MicroStrategy, Coinbase, and Hut 8 have benefited from the market rally, other crypto miners such as Riot Platform, Marathon Digital, and Bit Digital struggled with shrinking margins caused by higher energy and hardware costs, failing to capitalize on the surge.
