Bitcoin surpassed the $40,000 mark for the first time since May 2022, marking a resurgence of the largest digital asset.
MILESTONE | #Bitcoin crosses the $40,000 mark for the first time in 2023! pic.twitter.com/4ZgBV2Qnp8
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 4, 2023
Bitcoin dipped below $40,000 in April 2022 at the beginning of a tumultuous period for the crypto sector.
Since then, the sector has been plagued by a series of challenges, ranging from the failure of coins and projects to bankruptcies and legal proceedings. FTX, formerly one of the world’s largest exchanges, crumbled, and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried is now confronting over 100 years in prison after being convicted on seven counts of criminal fraud.
Simultaneously, Binance Chief, Changpeng Zhao, admitted to criminal charges and resigned as the company CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Interestingly, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has experienced a remarkable rally of over 100% in 2023, fostering optimism among many that the upward trend will persist into 2024. This surge is largely attributed to optimism over a reduction in interest rates and the possible approval of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
Other coins also see gains (Coingecko)Ethereum was changing hands at $2,214 at time of writing, reflecting a comparable percentage increase over the last 24 hours. While most other cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market capitalization recorded modest gains, the BNB coin, associated with the Binance exchange, saw a slight decrease of about 0.1% over the same period.
Several bold predictions for Bitcoin in 2024 have already emerged. Standard Chartered, in particular, reiterated a price forecast last week, stating that Bitcoin is expected to reach $100,000 by the end of 2024. The bank attributes this anticipated surge to the approvals of multiple Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).
Bitcoin is also expected to undergo a halving around late April 2024. During this event, the Bitcoin block reward will be reduced from 6.25 BTC per block to only 3.125 BTC marking the fourth halving event in Bitcoin’s history.
Historically, in the year preceding and following a halving event, the price of BTC has shown a tendency to increase significantly.
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