Bitcoin Surges Past $1 Trillion Mark, Drives Crypto Market to $2 Trillion

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has leaped 22% this year to $52,005, pushing it past a market value of $1 trillion for the first time since its record heyday in late 2021.

Its resurgence has electrified the broader cryptocurrency market, including ether and other digital coins, which has now exceeded $2 trillion, per CoinGecko data.

U.S. Regulatory Approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs Fuels Sector Growth:

The sector has been bolstered by the U.S. regulatory approval of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from BlackRock and Fidelity, which allow access to the crypto coin vis regular stock exchanges.

The U.S. spot ETFs added 60,000 bitcoins in the first month of their launch, more than twice the miner production in the same period, brokerage Bernstein said.

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Robust Crypto Trading Volumes Signal Market Momentum:

Crypto trading volumes are also robust. Total spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges rose 4.4% to $1.4 trillion in January, recording the fourth consecutive monthly gain and the highest reading since June 2022, a report by London-based researcher CCData said.

The resurgence of interest helped the largest listed crypto exchange, Coinbase Global (COIN.O), post its first quarterly profit in two years last week.

Optimistic Outlook for Bitcoin’s Future, Analysts Predict $150,000 by 2025:

Many industry watchers say the outlook is looking bright, with investors buying bitcoin ahead of the blockchain’s “halving” – a preplanned process that reduces mining rewards in half every four years – due in April.

Gautam Chhugani, analyst at Bernstein, expects 2024 to be a break-out year for cryptocurrencies where bitcoin hits all-time highs, followed by a peak of $150,000 by mid-2025.

While bitcoin remains 32% away from its record high of $69,000, it notched an all-time high against the Japanese yen at 7,919,000 last week.