Last updated on May 18th, 2024 at 12:14 pm
Bitcoin is well on its path to $44k. October 24 turned out to be a threshold for the crypto community. As Bitcoin soared up to $30,000, the vagueness transformed into ever-prevailing optimism, tinged with greed and promising expectations. Among those, an outlook has been standing out, stating the inevitability of Bitcoin scoring $40,000 by the end of the year.
While the prediction turned into reality, the debates about its credibility came to a logical conclusion, sharing the spotlight for two crucial fundamentals: the actual reasons behind the Bitcoin surge, and the future state of things of the coin.
In this article, we’ll dive into two pivots and find out how the asset managed to make a year-high comeback.
Let’s stick to high gear!
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Context
On December 4, BTC updated its year record by scoring a staggering $41,000. 24 hours later, the community’s euphoria took Bitcoin to $44k, with periodical RSI over 80. The bold surge concluded Bitcoin’s yearly growth of 150%, though it remains far from its historical high of $69,000, achieved in November of 2021.
BTC/USD chart for Dec. 4-7. Source: WhiteBIT Trading View
On the face, it seems that Bitcoin skyrocketed as a matter of both technical and external factors. But is this presumption credible in the core?
ETF Launch and CZ’s Departure Implicated?
While technicalities showcase the upcoming Bitcoin halving, verifying the Bitcoin price rally, fundamentals appear to be way more turbulent, making the BTC surge somehow puzzling.
Bitcoin managed to thrive through the piles of negative developments, some of which are said to be critical. Since scoring its historic high of $69,000, the crypto has been hit with a never-ending influx of collapsed projects, regulatory scrutinies, and criminal trials.
Among the array, two pivotal updates have been standing out, both being connected to the largest crypto exchanges over the globe (formerly and currently).
Specifically, a bold end was recently put to Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX – once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Its collapse due to fraudulent activity has significantly undermined the credibility of crypto, plummeting decentralized assets to the lowest rates and intensifying the legal focus toward virtual currencies.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of now-bankrupt FTX. Source: Vox
While Sam Bankman-Fried ultimately faced its sentence, counting up to 100 years in prison, another remarkable crypto founder is just up to it.
Less than a month, after the FTX trial had come to its logical conclusion, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, pleaded guilty to criminal charges, stepping down as the CEO of Binance within a $4.3B settlement with the U.S. Authorities.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance. Source: Binance Blog
Many in the industry see the two cases concluding as a line being drawn under the issues that plagued the crypto market. Nevertheless, a vast majority of the community kept believing that the Binance management switch would cease crypto’s nascent bull era, or even eliminate it.
By contrast, the landscape was reversed with the positive movements toward accepting the Bitcoin Exchange-Trade Fund (ETF). After months of obscurity, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems to set the course for approving either a Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund or a spot ETF.
A spot Bitcoin ETF will allow traditional investors to have exposure to the digital asset without actually owning it, spurring a vaster adoption and recognition of it. While the crypto market stands out due to its volatility, it remained a “no-go zone” for ones outside of the Web3 community.
From another perspective, the recent year seemed to be the calm before the storm, with no significant rallies in charge of the markets. A better time to introduce crypto to traditional investors can’t be imagined.
The enthusiasm was greatly heated as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the U.S. Central Bank’s policy was “well into restrictive territory”. Many interpreted the statement to be the showcase of the increasing interest in crypto from the point of its regulation and adoption.
Notably, the thrill of Bitcoin does not come solely from the ETF anticipation. It is massively spurred by the upcoming 4th halving of the asset, set for May 2024.
While halving stands for cutting the miner’s reward for blocks’ hash unfold, it will keep a cap on the total supply of Bitcoin, with only 21 million coins to flow across the web. Consequently, the halving will positively affect the BTC price, as per technical characteristics and previous tendencies.
“Many market participants are expecting a bull run sometime after the halving, but given the ETF news, we could very well have a run before that leaving most investors on the sidelines. That could cause a massive upward run in the price,” Vijay Ayyar, vice president of international markets at cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, said in an interview with CNBC.
But can this potential upward be predicted technically?
Technical Prediction for Bitcoin
While the enthusiasm for the Bitcoin rally is entering the second stage of massive short-period sales, the RSI showcases 34 range. It seems that the future predictions for Bitcoin’s bullish trend do not find a seat in investors’ strategy, yet this presumption may be short-sighted.
Indeed, Bitcoin merely plummeted to $43,000 contrary to the SMA 200 which indicates that the bullish trend is not broken. Amidst the increased interest, the chances are high for BTC to reach $50,000 by the end of the year.
BTC/USD chart for Dec. 4-7. Source: WhiteBIT Trading View
A similar prediction is voiced by reputable investor Ali. In his post on X, a $47,300 push-forward sounds like a realistic prediction until the current support level is broken. In the worst-case scenario, Bitcoin will turn to the $38,000 mark – another critical area to watch.
The different point of view is cited by Michaёl van de Poppe. The credible analyst believes that corrections are about to take place, stating that the ETF launch will not cause markets to move “in a ballistic manner with $200K in one go”.
Still, the investor does not exclude the $50,000 Bitcoin scenario, explaining that such a short-term top may arrive amidst ETF approval.
Ultimately, regardless of the controversy of predictions, Bitcoin will likely remain in its bullish sentiment, climbing to $44k with the eventual corrections, characterized by slight price dips.
Still, the crypto market, just as its external dimension, remains highly volatile. Hence, always do your research before investing and stay constantly turned on the charts.
Read more:
- Crypto Price Analysis 12/6: Binance Coin (BNB)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Analysis 12/5: How Long Will the Growth Last?
- Token Unlocking: 5 Altcoins to Pay Attention to This Week
Paul Osadchuk
Paul Osadchuk is a digital journalist specializing in cryptocurrency and Web3 topics. He writes for GNCrypto, Cryptoslate, and Foresight News EN, and maintains analytical blogs on TradingView, Binance Square, and CoinMarketCap. With over five years of experience in marketing and PR for crypto and Web3 companies, he has gained deep industry insight and expertise in crypto trading.