On March 5,2024, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin crossed $68,900, the highest price in its 15-year history. This soar comes less than 2 years after Bitcoin dropped below $17,000 in November 2022. Most analysts are very familiar with the volatile cycles of Bitcoin. Immediately after reaching its record high, Bitcoin fell to $61,000 by close of the same day. Today, March 15, 2024, Bitcoin closed at $69,621.28.

Bitcoin was originally designed as an alternative to the traditional finance system, in which people might be able to send money around the world without extractive intermediaries. The concept behind Bitcoin allows online payments to be transferred from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Thereby alleviating the typical processing, service and wire transfer fees that are accrued by most financial institutions. Another appealing aspect of Bitcoin is that it has been viewed as an inflation hedge. This means that Bitcoin cannot be devalued by a central bank printing more of it. Bitcoin was designed to only have 21 million units in circulation. 

In January, the US Financial Regulator approved exchange traded funds (ETF), which has benefited the surging price of Bitcoin since the start of the year. According to Jeff Billingham, director of strategic initiatives at Chainalysis, this approval shows there is now “institutional maturity” in the cryptocurrency market. Additionally, James Knightley, the chief international economist at the banking group ING, says elevated inflation readings have encouraged bitcoin buyers who see the cryptocurrency as an insurance policy against rising prices. According to Knightley, “Risk appetite has also soared in recent weeks with tech stocks fuelling the sense of Fomo [fear of missing out] in markets and I think bitcoin is being swept along in all of this.”

Haseeb Qureshi, a managing partner at the crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, believes that Bitcoin will only continue to increase in value over the next year. Bitcoin has yet to hit the “halving,” a mechanism built into Bitcoin that aims to make the currency more scarce and therefore, more valuable. Bitcoin halvings happen roughly every four years, with the next one set for April. Bitcoin prices rose after each of the three previous halvings, giving reason to believe that the trend will continue. 

Bitcoin is known for its ability to overcome any challenges and have strong comebacks. Various financial experts have been predicting that the Bitcoin bubble will pop “in the near future” for the past eight or so years; yet, somehow the coin still remains on top. BTC investors are enjoying their high profits and hoping the rising trend of Bitcoin will continue. 

Tickers to consider:  IKT, KALA, CEI

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