Bitcoin Reaches $50k Milestone, Highest in Over Two Years
In a notable turn of events, the trending news of “Bitcoin reaches $50k milestone” it has surged to a significant milestone, breaching the $50,000 mark for the first time in over two years. This surge is attributed to the growing anticipation of impending interest rate cuts later in the year and recent regulatory approvals for U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to Bitcoin’s price.
As of 12:56 p.m. EST (1756 GMT), Bitcoin is trading at $49,899, reflecting a 4.96% increase for the day and maintaining its position around the $50,000 level. The achievement of Bitcoin reaching the $50k milestone holds particular significance, especially given the recent spot ETF launch last month, which failed to push the cryptocurrency above this psychologically crucial level, resulting instead in a 20% sell-off, according to Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of Nexo, a crypto lending platform.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has also experienced a surge, rising by 4.12% to $2,607.57.
The global stock indexes witnessed a slight increase on Monday as traders sought clues regarding potential interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Analysts and financial market expectations are pointing towards May as a potential starting point for rate cuts in the current year.
A key driver for Bitcoin’s recent price surge can be attributed to increased investments in Bitcoin spot ETFs, as noted by Matteo Greco, a research analyst at Fineqia International. The approval of the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. securities regulator on January 10 marked a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry.
Greco highlighted a slowdown in outflows from Grayscale Investment’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.P), which recently received SEC approval to convert into an ETF. Meanwhile, Bitcoin spot ETFs observed a substantial net inflow of approximately $1.2 billion, marking the highest weekly inflow since their launch.
Analysts at Bernstein projected a gradual build-up of flows into the new ETFs, estimating them to surpass $10 billion in 2024. Standard Chartered analysts suggested the potential for attracting $50 billion to $100 billion in the current year alone, with others speculating inflows of $55 billion over the next five years.
The market is closely monitoring seven pending applications for ETFs tied to the spot price of Ether, with the SEC expected to make final decisions on several proposals by May.
Investors are also eagerly anticipating the upcoming Bitcoin “halving” scheduled for April. This process, designed to reduce the rate of new Bitcoin issuance, has historically led to rallies in the cryptocurrency’s price during previous halving events, the most recent being in 2020.
As the market anticipates these key events, including the fourth Bitcoin halving, a potential Ethereum spot ETF approval, and the prospect of the first Fed interest rate cut, Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro, emphasized their significance in the context of the crypto market, which remains the smallest, youngest, and predominantly retail-dominated asset class.
The achievement of Bitcoin created the news worldwide “Bitcoin reaches $50k milestone” Reaching the $50k milestone marks a momentous occasion in the crypto space, igniting enthusiasm and optimism among market participants and signaling a potentially bullish trajectory for the leading cryptocurrency.
