Bitcoin Booms To A Record High As Focus Turns To Ethereum Spot ETF!

In the last few years, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has been the talk of the financial town.

It’s no surprise too, considering the host of benefits the technology offers. From transparency to security, blockchain and cryptocurrency are redefining FinTech.

Leading the line in the industry is Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency and the most popular in the market.

While the last year has seen a few ups and downs for cryptocurrency leader, as well as for the cryptocurrency industry, Bitcoin has enjoyed some good days recently.

So, what exciting news does Bitcoin bring now? Let’s explore!
 

What’s New With Bitcoin?

 

• For the first time ever, Bitcoin hit a new record high as it went past the $72,000 price per bitcoin!

• Hitting $72,720, the cryptocurrency powered past its November 2021 record of $69,000, in a year that saw tough days which pulled its price down nearly 80%.

• Back on the block though, investors are eagerly awaiting more bitcoin as the demand for the cryptocurrency surges among lowering supply.

• One of the reasons for this was the Securities and Exchange Commission giving its approval to 11 spot ETFs (Exchange-Traded Fund) after much speculation, which saw around $20 billion being poured into the two most popular ETFs being offered – BlackRock and Fidelity.

• Between the two, BlackRock Bitcoin ETF reached $10 billion faster than any other US ETF ever and holds more BTC than MicroStrategy and is just 4,015 tokens short of taking its total holdings to 200,000 bitcoins.

• Another reason for Bitcoin’s jump in value includes the halving event that’s scheduled to occur in April 2024.

 

What Are Halving Events?

 

• Halving events entail cutting the amount of bitcoin awarded to miners down to 50%, which will effectively reduce the supply of new bitcoins, as bitcoins are produced through a process called “mining”.

• Halving events are planned to happen once every 210,000 blocks, which typically takes 4 years to mine.

• The first halving event took place in November 2012, where the reward for each mined block fell from 50 bitcoins to 25 bitcoins. The same happened in July 2016, with rewards dropping to 12.5 bitcoins.

• May 2020’s halving event resulted in rewards of 6.25 bitcoins per block and this year’s halving event is believed to drop the reward to 3.125 bitcoins per block.

• Halving events are designed to maintain the cryptocurrency’s scarcity and are aimed at gradually reducing the rate of new bitcoin generation. The endgame includes cutting off the total supply at 21 million bitcoins, as mentioned in its original white paper.

• Each previous halving event has resulted in the price of bitcoin jumping to new heights, with the last time witnessing a rise from $9,000 to around $60,000 within a year.

 

What Did Experts Say About Bitcoin?

 

• As per MicroStrategy’s Executive Chairman, Michael Saylor, “The natural sellers are the miners. The miners can only sell 900 bitcoin a day right now. They're only going to be able to sell 450 bitcoin a day at the end of April. As long as there's more demand in the market than the 450 bitcoin a day, there isn't any catalyst to drive this asset down.”

• [Contd.] “That $66,000 to $16,000 crash, that shook out the tourists. That shook out the non-believers. When it was $16,000 we were all ready to ride it zero. And that's what you'll find with the bitcoin maximalist. Now we're riding it the other direction”

• [Contd.] “There's just no reason why it shouldn't just keep adjusting up to find the marginal supply as the demand builds.”

However, another player is looming in the shadows – Ethereum!
 

What’s Happening With Ethereum?

 

• Ethereum, a Bitcoin rival, has been trying to get approval of its Ethereum spot ETF in the US but hasn’t tasted success yet, while Bitcoin zooms ahead.

• As per recent reports, the odds of that happening have been further hampered, with approval odds of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) providing an approval being dropped to 24%.

• However, there is a silver lining for Ethereum, as Hong Kong looks set to launch Spot Ethereum ETF before the US

• At the same time, the country is also set to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs with 10 financial institutions planning to be a part of it.

Do you think Bitcoin will soar to higher levels than it currently is? Will the halving event boost its value further? Will Ethereum face success in its ETF endeavors?

Let us know in the comments below!