Bitcoin, now trading at $38,337, has been on an upward trend since October due to the anticipation that the possibility of a spot exchange-traded fund being approved would likely increase the number of capital investments in the digital asset industry.
“Tailwinds have been gathering strength all year, especially in recent months,” said Noelle Acheson, an economist who focuses on cryptocurrency, about the rally in Bitcoin. “Spot ETF expectations have been building, the Binance uncertainty has been resolved, and 2024’s accelerated money printing becomes more inevitable.”
Bitcoin miners, such as Riot Platforms (RIOT.O), Marathon Digital (MARA.O), and TeraWulf (WULF.O), saw their share prices increase by between 1.7% and 4%. This is because the profitability of bitcoin miners increases when the price increases.
To reflect the rally in bitcoin, J.P. Morgan upped its price estimates for Cipher Mining (CIFR.O), CleanSpark (CLSK.O), Iris Energy (IREN.O), Marathon Digital, and Riot Platforms.
Mining businesses are also expanding output in preparation for the “halving” event in Bitcoin the following year. This event will result in the benefits of creating the tokens being slashed in half.
Following the 62% increase in November, which exceeded Bitcoin’s 11% gain, the shares of Coinbase (COIN.O) rose by around 2.5%. This occurred despite the U.S. crypto exchange announcing a decrease in trading volume earlier in the month.
As we go into the year 2024, higher cryptocurrency values should increase the number of transactions and the income generated by those transactions for Coinbase, according to Michael Elliott, an analyst at CFRA Research.
Nevertheless, Elliott emphasized that the cryptocurrency exchange is confronted with both legal challenges and new laws, which are expected to take some time to play out and will continue to result in volatility for the company.
As a result of Changpeng Zhao, the creator of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, resigning from his position and pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering rules in the United States, the ETF approval bets have helped address the most recent issues.
Microstrategy (MSTR.O), a software developer and bitcoin investor based in the United States, advanced by roughly 3.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO.P), which gained 2.1%, were among the other companies that saw gains.
