Australian cryptocurrency enthusiasts are convinced ‘it’s a whole new world’ after Bitcoin hit the highest price in its 15-year history.
Australian cryptocurrency enthusiasts are feeling optimistic after the Bitcoin price hit an all-time high, less than two years after a brutal industry-wide collapse that wiped out billions of dollars.
Bitcoin traded for just under $69,000 earlier this week, more than quadrupling its value from late 2022, when it crashed below $16,000 and was declared dead following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
“This all feels like it happened in the last two weeks,” said Melbourne-based crypto broker Jackson Zeng.
Bitcoin has risen to a record high price (pictured) and cryptocurrency enthusiasts are optimistic that the bitcoin market will continue to rise
Like many others, Mr. Zeng links Bitcoin’s sudden price surge to the long-awaited approval in January of 11 Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) by U.S. regulators.
That approval made gaining Bitcoin exposure as easy as buying a stock through a traditional brokerage, making it more accessible to both retail and institutional investors.
In less than two months, nearly $50 billion in Bitcoin ETFs have poured into the US market, with the largest, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, holding more than $10 billion.
“When we had the crazy surge from $50,000 to $60,000, that was very, very clear the impact of net inflows from ETFs,” Mr. Zeng said.
The year was always expected to be a bullish one for cryptocurrencies, but not because of the ETF approval.
By mid-April, Bitcoin inflation will drop by half to just 0.8 percent, as it does approximately every four years.
About 900 Bitcoins are generated every day – or 6.25 every 10 minutes – to reward “miners” who maintain the integrity of the decentralized network.
After the ‘halving’, that reward will be reduced to 450 Bitcoin per day.
Previous halvings – in November 2012, July 2016 and May 2020 – caused supply shocks that resulted in major crypto rallies about six months later.
Reaching an all-time high before the halving was unprecedented, said Townsville-based crypto trader Michael Sloggett.
“I’m convinced this is very different from anything we’ve ever experienced before,” Sloggett said.
“It’s a brand new world – we’re in a new and exciting place where we’ve never been before and where anything is possible – up or down.”
David Haslop, founder of the Australian Crypto Convention, was also optimistic.
“We are witnessing what we have speculated and dreamed about all these years,” he said.
‘Institutions are buying in bulk and the retail market hasn’t even started yet.’
The Australian founder of the Crypto Convention, David Haslop, is feeling optimistic. Pictured with his son Austin and wife Kelly
The approval of 11 Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (pictured) by US regulators has opened the door for more investment
Nearly $50 billion in Bitcoin ETFs has poured into the US market in less than two months (pictured)
‘Post-halving? It is not crazy to think that BTC could cross the 250,000 mark in a relatively short time.”
Mr Haslop and Mr Sloggett are not always so optimistic about the cryptocurrency markets.
In June 2022, they both accurately predicted expected further declines for the native cryptocurrency.
In addition to the halving, Mr Zeng said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should decide by May 23 whether to approve ETFs for Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency.
“The market estimates that the probability of a coin toss being approximately approved or rejected,” Mr Zeng said.
“There’s a theory that an Ethereum ETF has a lower chance of approval just because of its complexity and the likelihood that the SEC won’t deem it as simple as Bitcoin because it’s not a security now.”
If an Ethereum ETF is approved, it could have a dramatic effect on the market.
Mr Zeng said that unlike Bitcoin, ether’s supply in the market decreased after a 2022 upgrade known as ‘the merger’.