Bitcoin (BTC) hit $40,000 for the first time since late April 2022, up about 2% in 24 hours.
According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin rose from under $39,500 to over $40,000 on December 3, hitting a 19-month high.
It also marks a new yearly high for Bitcoin, which has risen over 140% since January 1st. However, it is still around 42% below its November 10, 2021 all-time high of over $69,000.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen from below $17,000 over the past 12 months. Source: CoinGecko
In a November 30 note, Matrixport research director Markus Thielen predicted that Bitcoin would reach a value of over $60,000 by April next year and $125,000 by the end of 2024.
Thielen said the last three crypto bear markets have seen a three-year bull market and analysis suggested that “this bull market will last another three years, with 2023 being the first year.”
“Historically, years when Bitcoin mining rewards have been halved have generally been positive,” Thielen explained. Bitcoin is expected to halve again in mid-April 2024 – when mining rewards will be cut by 50%.
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“Miners tended to hoard Bitcoin before each halving, prices rose +200%, suggesting Bitcoin would reach $125,000,” said Thielen.
The Bitcoin price milestone comes amid speculation that a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will soon be approved in the United States.
In a November 28 note, Standard Chartered predicted that Bitcoin could reach six figures before the end of next year due to the “earlier-than-expected launch” of spot ETFs in the US
There are 13 bidders for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US – the latest from Swiss asset manager Pando Asset, which filed on November 29th. All are pending approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and BlackRock and Grayscale, among them, have already met with the bidding agency to hammer out details of their ETFs.
Bloomberg’s ETF analysts have a 90% chance that all outstanding ETF bids will be approved simultaneously by January 10.
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