Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Bitcoin on the Rise: What’s Fueling It and How Far Could It Go?
Ruby Layram
14th Nov 2024
This week, Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $80,000 for the first time, establishing a new all-time high. The world’s largest crypto has been on a bit of a frenzy recently after the electoral victory of Donald Trump, who is vocally pro-crypto.
In response to the price surge, many market watchers have been speculating whether or not the cryptocurrency is headed towards $100K (or perhaps higher!). If you were one of the lucky people who managed to attend our recent crypto event, you would have already had some thoughts on this. You might also remember my post about why I’m not worried about Bitcoin, which touched on the topic.
However, the cryptocurrency market is notoriously volatile and things can change very quickly! So, in this post, I wanted to give a bit of an update about what’s currently going on with Bitcoin, why it’s on the up and whether or not it’s still headed for $100k.
What’s going on with Bitcoin?
It’s been a great month for Bitcoin – and for anyone who invested in Bitcoin when it was trading at around $36,000 this time last year! The ‘digital gold’ pushed past $80,000 to reach an all-time high after winning the support of the recently elected Donald Trump.
Ever since Trump came into power, sentiment towards Bitcoin has been notably positive. And, it seems that more investors are starting to consider the crypto as a serious candidate for their portfolios.
Bitcoin, Trump and Elon Musk
You’re probably sick of reading about Donald Trump in the news. But, he has played a pretty big role in the rise of Bitcoin, along with tech mogul Elon Musk.
The price of cryptocurrencies is largely affected by investor sentiment and trends – particularly those that circulate on social media. And, if there is one thing that Trump does well, it’s going viral!
At the beginning of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump was vocal about his support for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He promised to improve US crypto regulations to support the mass adoption of Bitcoin and even pledged to make the US the ‘world crypto capital’.
As you can imagine, this caused a bit of a frenzy on social media! Crypto enthusiasts were quick to show their support for the Trump campaign and many investors increased their stake in BTC in preparation for a potential Trump win.
Not long after pledging to turn the US into a crypto capital, the Trump campaign gained support from notorious crypto advocate, Elon Musk. This move further established Trump as a crypto champion.
Support from the White House is perhaps one of the biggest green lights that the crypto space could hope to get, and it got it!
Cryptocurrency regulations
A pro-crypto US government is not the only win that Bitcoin has had this year. 2024 has been the year that the Markets in Crypto Assets (MICA) Regulation came into force in the EU.
The framework welcomes uniform market rules for all crypto assets in the European Union, including crypto assets that are not currently regulated by existing legislation.
The introduction of the MICA framework paves the way for market integrity and financial stability, which will make the crypto market more accessible to investors in the EU.
Of course, there is always a bit of pushback around new regulations from people who believe that it takes away from the decentralised nature of crypto. However, frameworks like MICA will help to facilitate wider adoption in the long run.
Bitcoin and crypto ETFs
Another big event that happened at the beginning of this year was the launch of the first crypto ETFs. These are exchange-listed funds that track the value of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The new ETFs have made crypto accessible through the traditional stock market, which opens up doors for a new wave of investors to add crypto to their portfolios.
The ETFs do not directly affect the price of Bitcoin. However, increased adoption of Bitcoin (which comes with the introduction of ETFs) could push the price up.
So far, the effects of the ETFs have been a little underwhelming (in my opinion anyway!). However, we are still in the early days and there is time for further growth.
Will Bitcoin hit $100k?
The big question is: will Bitcoin hit $100K?
If you ask me, it’s pretty close! The coin recently surpassed $84K which is only $16k away from the long-awaited target. For context, Bitcoin’s recent surge has caused the crypto to gain more than $20K in one week so an extra 16 grand isn’t unreasonable.
But, don’t just take my word for it. Prof Alexander from the University of Sussex Business School recently shared that Bitcoin’s bullish momentum is likely to continue until Trump’s official inauguration in January 2025.
However, she also issued a warning to investors saying: “This bull run will increase adoption by retail especially, but also institutions. Unfortunately, this growth will be on the back of failing regulations. Huge hidden risks will be swept under the carpet as the US Securities Exchange Commission ceases to take out civil actions against unregulated exchanges.”
A similar view was shared by the CEO of Mudrex, Edul Patel, who told the Economic Times: “There’s a strong likelihood that the bull market will persist, possibly pushing Bitcoin’s price to $100,000 by year-end. The market has seen an influx of new investors, both retail and institutional, who are using spot ETFs to enter the market conveniently. The combination of reduced Bitcoin supply due to halving an increased demand from Bitcoin ETFs is a key factor driving the current bull run.”
If you do a simple search for ‘Bitcoin price prediction’ in Google, you will find an array of interviews in established publications stating that the crypto to surpass the target.
However, it is important to conduct your own research and read a mixture of varied predictions before making an investment decision. I always like to get both sides of the picture before putting money into anything!
Remember, cryptocurrency can be very volatile and prices can go down as quickly as they go up. Only invest money that you can afford to lose.
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Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence. When investing your capital is at risk.
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