Bitcoin (BTC) has broken the $42,000 mark, riding on a wave of optimism fueled partly by spot ETF hopefulness and the anticipation of the upcoming halving event.
Bitcoin’s surge has propelled it into the top ten assets by market cap globally. With a market capitalization of $818 billion, Bitcoin surpassed Berkshire Hathaway and even Tesla. Bitcoin’s performance starkly contrasts with even high-performing traditional assets, including gold, which has appreciated by only 12% year-to-date.
The bullish sentiment around Bitcoin is further intensified by predictions from key industry figures. Blockstream CEO Adam Back expressed his belief on social media that Bitcoin will likely hit $100,000 before its next halving. While some community members align with Back’s bullish outlook, others caution against what they see as speculative guessing in an unpredictable market.
The push for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has also contributed to Bitcoin’s positive market sentiment. Major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments are striving to secure regulatory approval for their spot Bitcoin ETF applications.
Part of BlackRock’s proposed solution to meet the SEC’s concerns over market manipulation and broker-dealer registrations is to modify the current in-kind redemption model for the ETF shares during the redemption process. This move is seen to isolate the broker-dealer from risks associated with transferring Bitcoin to the market maker.
Internationally, Bitcoin has also been making headlines. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele claimed that the country’s recent surge has made Bitcoin’s investment profitable. However, data from NayibTracker contradicted Bukele’s statement as the price withdrew. At press time, the value of El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings sat at $116,546,001, down 0.56% overall.
At press time, Bitcoin had retracted to $41,955, up 5.45% over 24 hours.
