The year was unlike any other. BitcoinThe emergence of the Internet has been a major development in recent years, with many new technologies and landmarks. It also found a home at Wall Street as well as being used to influence U.S. election results.
Take a look at what the biggest crypto in the world has been up to.
Bitcoin ETFs – a decade’s wait
Securities and Exchange Commission has spent over a decade saying "no" to top asset managers who wished to offer a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund—the once elusive Bitcoin ETF—to their clients in the United States. BlackRock, world’s largest asset manager, filed a Bitcoin-based ETF with the SEC in June 2023.
ETFs allow investors to invest in an asset and gain exposure without purchasing or storing it directly. The gold ETF, for example, has been around since the 1970s and allows investors to buy physical gold bars or coins without worrying about storing them safely.
SEC has been very cautious about allowing this for Bitcoin. It’s denied many applications on the grounds of the market being easily manipulable.
The industry analysts believed that BlackRock stepping in to lend its weight was what would push the regulator into giving the green light. In the end, it worked out. The SEC released its annual report on January 10. You can also check out our website for more information. Bitcoin ETFs are trading on the day after. Retail investors in the U.S. can now put some money into Bitcoins with no need to deal with exchanges, wallets or seed phrases. It was huge—and it had a bigger impact than even the most optimistic Bitcoin proponents imagined.
The highest point in history
Nobody—not even those whose job it is to analyze the niche market of ETFs—expected such a roaring start once the trading began. Fast money poured into the fund. Investors, who had previously been locked out of cryptocurrency investing, could buy shares of stock on exchanges tracking the Bitcoin price.
CoinGecko shows that in March the asset’s value reached an all-time peak of $73,000.
The ride wasn’t easy. Many macroeconomic factors—not to mention government confiscations and large crypto movements—weighed on Bitcoin throughout the year.
Despite hitting a new all-time high in March, the next few months were rocky for Bitcoin as geopolitical risks—particularly in the Middle East—led investors to shift away from risk assets.
Bitcoin was unable to reach a value higher than $60,000. This is due to the increased tension between Iran and Israel, as well as missile attacks.
When the German government increased its selling pressure, it Buy off Bitcoins worth hundreds of millions dollars were confiscated in June.
In September it happened finally: the Federal Reserve cut interest rates 50 basis points., the central bank's first such reduction since aggressively raising rates in 2022. Central bank interest rates had been raised in an attempt to control post-pandemic price inflation.
Investors are generally more inclined to invest when interest rates rise. "risk off" When the next recession approaches, investors should flee from riskier assets, such as cryptos, to the relative security provided by the U.S. currency.
This September, the cut-off date for the cuts and The next chop The asset became more attractive to investors in November, resulting in a surge of prices. The "risk on" Trade was back and helped crypto assets go beyond Bitcoin.
Bitcoin broke the barrier that crypto enthusiasts had predicted for years. The $100,000 Mark Investors expect a relaxed regulatory climate for digital assets.
Political institutions and their politics
The price increase of Bitcoin is largely due to the institutions and the politics.
Trump surprised observers by taking the Electoral College as well as the popular vote on the 5th of November. The Republican candidate positioned himself as an America-friendly Bitcoin enthusiast.
“I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet,” Trump The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other At the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville in July last year, the nation was promised a new era of prosperity. “Bitcoin superpower” If elected.
Analysts and watchers of the industry predicted that Trump winning would increase Bitcoin’s value. The predictions were accurate. Bitcoins’ price rose immediately after Donald Trump was named the next U.S. President.
Bitcoin has reached $103,679.
At least theoretically, conditions are favorable to the asset continuing its rise, since America now has more pro-congress cryptocurrency in history including Vice president-elect J.D. Vance who supports digital assets holds significant Bitcoin.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will become the new U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services. It is a language that can be spoken by anyone Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor of the United States, has also voted in favor of crypto bills.
Other Republicans, including Trump supporters, are in favour of a pro-crypto-policy. Now, all eyes are on the outcome of the election. Bitcoin ReserveA plan by the U.S. federal government to store billions in Bitcoin on its books for many years. When Trump assumes the presidency in January, all of these changes will become law.
It was the approval of spot ETFs that opened doors for traditional financial giants. Goldman Sachs You can also find out more about the following: Morgan Stanley Investing in crypto via vehicles.
As MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor put it, the year 2024 will be here before we know it. “year zero of institutional adoption.”
Bitcoins are being bought by companies
Speaking of Saylor, the Bitcoin preacher’s company aggressively snapped up Bitcoin in 2024—accelerating its buys towards the end of the year.
Stocks of the software company soared, while its founder continued to drum up Bitcoin, telling everyone how it could help save companies.
The billionaire—whose company held 444,462 Bitcoins, valued at around $42 billion at the time of writing—even shared a Bitcoin adoption strategy with the Microsoft board of directors. The company decided not to buy Bitcoin—despite admitting it had mulled over the matter.
There are also other smaller companies such as Japan MetaPlanet U.S. Public Companies such as Semler Scientific You can also find out more about the following: Cosmos Health Buy the asset to hedge against inflation.
Halving occurred
Bitcoin’s prominence in 2024 was not solely due to ETFs or institutional adoption. This year, Bitcoiners were also able to enjoy one of their most anticipated events: the Bitcoin half-doubling.
The event, baked into Bitcoin’s code, happens every four years and is meant to keep Bitcoin's inflation rate in check. The reward for mining Bitcoin blocks is halved after every half. This means that less Bitcoin enters the system. It will go on until all mining rewards are phased out and Bitcoin has reached its 21-million coin fixed supply.
This halving is different from the others. You can also find out more about the investors at Focused on it Why? Why? Again, timing. The success and increased adoption of Bitcoin ETFs has led to more. People will anticipate the increase in value of the asset. After all, less demand and greater supply should result in higher prices.
The event, while not spectacular, was a first. It marked the highest coin ever before the halving of the coin in April.
The runes was a thing
The halving of Bitcoin also brought something else with it: A short-lived obsession for a technical advance on the Bitcoin Network: Runes.
Casey Rodarmor, the man behind Ordinals inscriptions—launched last year—created a new standard for creating tokens on the blockchain called Runes. The Runes protocol launched on the same day as the Bitcoin halving and proved popular—for a while—with dog-themed meme coins gaining traction on the network and Surge in Value.
Some in the community are unhappy with what Runes has done to the oldest and largest crypto network, namely transaction fees Soaring It is important to note that the minting of new tokens can be a frenzy on the blockchain.
Even if the launch was seen as a fad by some, it proved that Bitcoin has more uses than simply holding and hoping. "number goes up."
Sebastian Sinclair is the editor