Bitcoin continued its climb of the past few days on Friday by jumping above the $48,000 mark.
Most recently, the largest digital currency by market value on the Bitstamp trading platform was trading slightly lower again, with an increase of around five percent to 47,613 US dollars. The multi-year high of around $49,000 from January is getting closer. Other digital stocks such as Ether have also recently risen.
“Now investors could set their sights on the $50,000 mark,” commented crypto expert Timo Emden from Emden Research. “The price dynamics show that a not insignificant number of investors are now simply afraid of missing out. The bull market is feeding the bull market.” Now at the latest the market could develop its own momentum again. This also increases the risk of significant setbacks,
In January, Bitcoin rose to a good $49,000 in anticipation of the US approval of several spot ETFs – i.e. exchange-traded funds. After approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), investors initially took advantage of the steep price rise of the previous months to cash in. In January the price fell below $39,000 before a turnaround occurred.
With the approval, Bitcoin becomes accessible to a broader investor base. According to data from JPMorgan bank, inflows into ETFs accelerated again at the end of this week.
Investors are already looking ahead to the “Bitcoin Halving” that is getting closer and closer. The event is expected to take place in mid-April 2024. As a result, the reward (in the form of Bitcoin) for the Bitcoin blocks generated with computers will be halved. The move is intended to dampen the supply of new Bitcoin and thus support demand.
It is the fourth halving in the history of the digital currency. Such a step occurs every 210,000 blocks until the maximum number of 21 million Bitcoin is reached. As the broker IG announced at the beginning of the year, this time it is entirely unclear whether – as after the previous halving in May 2020 – a longer-term price increase will follow. It is difficult to predict whether demand will increase as a result. The market has become significantly more mature since the last halving and a larger selection of established cryptocurrencies are competing for users.
In addition, a large part of all around 21 million possible Bitcoins have already been mined. According to the Coinmarketcap website, there are currently a good 19.6 million. However, due to the “halvings”, the last Bitcoin will probably not be created until 2140.
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)
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