{"id":2119414,"date":"2023-12-08T05:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T10:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boom-or-bust-what-the-year-ahead-may-hold-for-bitcoin-and-crypto\/"},"modified":"2023-12-08T05:40:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T10:40:17","slug":"boom-or-bust-what-the-year-ahead-may-hold-for-bitcoin-and-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boom-or-bust-what-the-year-ahead-may-hold-for-bitcoin-and-crypto\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin and crypto: A rollercoaster year ahead?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fboom-or-bust-what-the-year-ahead-may-hold-for-bitcoin-and-crypto%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2119414&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>This coming new year could be a big one\u2062 for bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market<\/h2>\n<p>And crypto\u2063 enthusiasts are\u200d optimistic after what\u200c has been quite a fruitful 2023 for the digital assets space.<\/p>\n<h3>To\u200c understand what may\u200c lie ahead for the industry, it is \u200bcrucial to note\u2062 the momentum that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies more generally \u200chave heading into 2024.<\/h3>\n<p>This\u200d week, bitcoin punched above $44,000 \u2014 the price of \u200bbitcoin is now the highest it \u200chas \u200dbeen since April 2022.<\/p>\n<h2>HOME ECONOMICS: THE HUMAN COST OF THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS<\/h2>\n<p>As of Dec. 5, bitcoin was up nearly 16% over just the \u200dprevious \u2063five \u2063days and offered nearly 25% returns in the past month alone \u2014 spectacular growth for such a short period.<\/p>\n<p>This year has\u200c been \u2064a bountiful one for the flagship cryptocurrency, which had an awful 2022.\u2064 In 2022, bitcoin lost more than 65% \u2063of its value, causing some investors to flee the crypto markets.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2062this \u2063year, since \u200dthe start of 2023, bitcoin has \u200cposted a remarkable 163% gain, \u200cnearly erasing the \u2062hole that was\u2064 made \u200dthe \u200dyear before.<\/p>\n<p>So there is underlying momentum and \u200dhope heading into the new year. Although outside of just \u2063momentum and investor\u2064 optimism, there\u2062 are some major developments on \u200bthe \u200dhorizon for the crypto space in the coming months.<\/p>\n<h3>Approval of ETFs<\/h3>\n<p>Perhaps the factor most closely\u2064 associated with bitcoin\u2019s growth\u200b and\u2063 the\u2064 possibility of\u200b more growth soon heading\u200d into 2024 is the approval of the first bitcoin exchange-traded\u200b funds.<\/p>\n<p>The Securities and Exchange Commission \u2064is still mulling over the decision to greenlight\u2063 about a dozen such applications, and many in the crypto community think that\u2062 it likely\u2063 will give\u200b them the \u2063OK, something that\u200d would be\u2062 a shot in the arm for\u200c the digital asset.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, BlackRock\u2019s \u200bmuch-anticipated \u201ciShares Bitcoin\u200d Trust\u201d invests directly in bitcoin rather than futures tied to it. It is \u2064one \u200dof the applications being considered, and investors \u2063became\u200d even more excited this \u2062week when it was revealed in a filing that it received $100,000\u200d in \u201cseed capital\u201d from\u200c an\u2064 investor.<\/p>\n<p>Most in the crypto world\u200c think \u2064that at\u200c least some of the ETF applications will get approved. Bloomberg \u2063Intelligence \u200danalysts said in a recent \u2064note that they\u2062 expect the SEC to approve all\u2063 of\u2064 the applications.<\/p>\n<p>James Lawrence of Siesta Markets told the Washington Examiner during an interview that \u200bapproval would be good news for the crypto\u200c markets, although even if they got rejected, he thinks the downturn would not be \u200dlong-lasting given the global appeal of \u200dbitcoin and cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if it does \u200bget approved, I think that is a major \u2064signal for the world\u2019s \u200dbig money \u200cmanagers that, \u2062hey, the U.S. is \u200cgreenlighting \u200cdigital assets officially and essentially\u2062 it\u2019s \u200copen season for one of the \u2063largest\u200c capital\u2063 flows into digital assets yet,\u201d he said, noting how it sort of opens the floodgates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s\u200d absolutely huge once they approve it, but if they\u2063 don\u2019t \u200capprove it, I think it\u2019s just more of \u2063the\u2063 same \u2014 people will blink for a day or two\u2064 and the world moves on,\u201d Lawrence added.<\/p>\n<h3>The \u200dFederal Reserve and interest rates<\/h3>\n<p>Since March 2022, the Fed has been driving\u200c up interest rates\u200c to levels not seen in years.<\/p>\n<p>The idea is that the higher rates (the Fed\u2019s target rate \u2062is now 5.25% \u200dto \u20625.50%) would \u200dhelp tamp down inflation, although\u2063 the side effect\u2062 of \u2063such tightening is downward pressure on the \u200ceconomy.<\/p>\n<p>The tightening \u200dalso shone through in the cryptocurrency markets. As rates\u2062 rose quickly in 2022,\u200d bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies flagged \u200bas investors, fearing a potential economic \u2064downturn, \u200bfled from risky asset classes into safer ones. But as \u200cthe Fed has\u200b driven up rates, a major economic downturn, and certainly \u200ca\u200b recession, never came\u2062 to\u200b fruition.<\/p>\n<p>Now that the Fed \u2062has\u200c meaningfully brought inflation down (it is running at just around \u20643% depending on the\u200d gauge), \u2063it appears \u2062poised to be finished with its \u2062tightening and\u2064 might be eyeing rate cuts as soon as the first quarter of 2024. So now there \u200bis a sense of optimism that the economy might have gotten through the tightening without a recession, \u2062a scenario referred to as a \u201csoft landing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Traditional assets like stocks \u2064tend to \u200cgain \u2062momentum when the Fed appears poised to \u200dcut rates, and\u2063 with\u200c the possibility \u200dlooking\u200d ever more likely, there has been a bit of a \u2062cross-asset rally for both bitcoin and the stock market. For\u2062 instance, in the past month alone, the\u2064 S&#038;P 500 has risen by \u200dmore than 4.6%.<\/p>\n<p>Investors now\u2063 see a 57% probability that the\u200d Fed will cut rates as soon as March, according to the CME Group\u2019s FedWatch tool, which calculates the probability using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-reserve-set-for-historic-measure-to-curb-inflation\/\" title=\"Federal Reserve Set for Historic Measure to Curb Inflation\">futures contract prices<\/a> for rates\u2062 in \u200bthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/powell-set-to-testify-before-congress-heres-what-to-expect\/\" title=\"Powell set to testify before Congress \u2014 here's what to expect\">short-term market targeted<\/a> \u200bby the Fed.<\/p>\n<h3>The bitcoin \u200bhalving<\/h3>\n<p>The\u2064 bitcoin\u200c halving is an event\u200d that will take\u2063 place in a few \u200bmonths that \u200cperhaps many casual bitcoin investors aren\u2019t even aware of, although it could bode\u2063 very\u2062 well\u2062 for bitcoin and \u200bother cryptocurrencies throughout 2024 and maybe even beyond.<\/p>\n<p>With bitcoin, about every four years, \u2062the block rewards for bitcoin miners get slashed\u2063 in half,\u2063 reducing the \u2062supply of new bitcoins by 50%. This is known as halving. Jim Harper, a \u200dnonresident \u200csenior \u2062fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the\u2064 Washington\u200b Examiner earlier this year that such \u200dhighly anticipated halving\u200b events can drive up the price of the digital asset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat creates essentially\u200c a supply shortage with less bitcoin coming\u200c into existence \u2014 it becomes less inflationary or\u200c more deflationary. &#8230; There\u2019s just less of it around,\u201d Harper explained. \u201cThat tends to create a sense of shortage, and \u200bin classic supply \u200dand demand \u200bterms, it\u200c just tends to drive the price up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lawrence said that historically the months leading \u2063up to such four-year halving\u2064 events and the months after them tend\u2062 to \u200dbe very volatile, although the approximately 18 months after the\u2063 halving usually is a bull market for bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of a continuation\u200b of bitcoin getting more and more scarce,\u201d Lawrence said. He \u2063noted that\u200c it costs\u2062 a\u200b certain amount\u2064 of\u2064 energy to mine a bitcoin and that because that energy cost will now be\u2063 doubled, it will cost two times \u2064as much now to produce the digital \u2063asset.<\/p>\n<h3>Potential downsides<\/h3>\n<p>While there is a healthy amount of optimism\u200b for bitcoin and crypto heading into the new year, there\u200b are some unknowns that could cause the digital\u2064 asset\u2019s value\u2062 to falter.<\/p>\n<p>One of the main uncertainties \u2062has to do \u2063with regulation. For instance, global bitcoin prices sputtered when \u2063China banned \u200call crypto transactions back in 2021, and the price of bitcoin has lowered \u200dwhen U.S. \u2063regulators have slammed major \u200dcrypto exchanges.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. \u2063regulators under President Joe Biden have been fairly \u2062aggressive against the \u200dcrypto industry, and the\u200d SEC has filed several \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-denounces-kicking-out-unvaccinated-troops\/\" title=\"DeSantis Denounces Kicking Out Unvaccinated Troops\">high-profile lawsuits<\/a> against major \u2062firms.\u2062 Among the companies that the SEC\u2062 has targeted are Binance, Coinbase,\u2064 and Kraken.<\/p>\n<p>Cryptocurrency advocates have panned \u200bthe SEC as too heavy-handed\u200c or as regulating by lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Still,\u2062 Lawrence said he thinks \u200dpotential U.S. regulatory actions would only have a short-term impact\u2062 on price given the global nature of \u200bcryptocurrency.<\/p>\n<p>John Berlau, a \u2063senior fellow \u200band director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told \u200cthe Washington Examiner that the \u201carbitrary actions\u201d of federal agencies could cause\u2062 sudden downward price movements against some of\u200c the significantly sized, but non-bitcoin, cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n<p>But Berlau said that he thinks some of the actions of the SEC and Department of Justice against bad actors like disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have actually been a boon for bitcoin and crypto because \u2063it renews\u2063 confidence that the \u200bcrypto industry isn\u2019t the wild west\u200b and there are guardrails \u2062that work.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/business\/bitcoin-crypto-2024-outlook\">CLICK HERE TO\u2063 READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the potential effects of a shift in \u2063monetary policy, including possible rate cuts\u200b by the Federal Reserve, on the cryptocurrency markets\u2064 in the first quarter of 2024?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Understanding \u200cthe Momentum: What to Expect for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies in 2024<\/p>\n<p>The year \u20622023 has\u200d been a fruitful\u2063 one for the digital assets space, and \u200ccrypto enthusiasts are\u200c optimistic about the future\u2064 of \u200bbitcoin and the cryptocurrency market.\u2062 With the price of bitcoin punching above $44,000 this week, it is\u2063 now at its highest point \u200bsince April 2022. Bitcoin\u200b has experienced a remarkable 163% gain since the \u2062start \u200bof 2023,\u2063 nearly erasing the losses from the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead to 2024, \u200cthere are\u2063 several factors that suggest \u200ca potentially big\u2063 year for\u2064 bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.\u200d One\u200b of the \u200bmost significant factors is the potential \u200bapproval\u200c of the first bitcoin exchange-traded\u200c funds (ETFs). The Securities\u2064 and\u200d Exchange Commission\u200d is currently reviewing a\u2063 dozen applications for bitcoin ETFs, and \u2063many in the crypto community believe that\u2063 they will likely be approved. This approval would be a significant boost for the \u2062digital asset and could open the floodgates for large capital \u2063flows \u200cinto cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n<p>The approval of ETFs would \u200calso send a signal to global \u200dmoney managers that digital \u200dassets are being officially recognized and \u200dembraced by\u200c the U.S.\u2062 market. Even if the ETF applications are rejected, the global appeal of bitcoin and cryptocurrency would likely ensure that any\u200c downturn is short-lived.<\/p>\n<p>Another factor to consider is the \u2064role of the Federal Reserve and interest rates. Since March 2022, the\u200c Fed has \u2062been raising\u2062 interest \u2062rates with the aim of curbing inflation. While these rate hikes initially caused downward \u2062pressure on the \u200deconomy and the cryptocurrency markets, a major economic downturn did \u2062not \u2062materialize. Now, with inflation under control, \u2062the Fed may be\u200b considering rate cuts \u200din the first \u200dquarter of\u2062 2024. This potential shift in monetary policy has led to optimism\u200d in both\u2062 the stock market and the cryptocurrency markets.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, \u200bthe\u2062 bitcoin halving event is\u2063 a key factor that could impact bitcoin and\u200c other cryptocurrencies in\u2063 2024. Approximately every \u200bfour years,\u2064 the block\u200d rewards for bitcoin miners get halved,\u200d reducing the supply of new bitcoins \u2064by 50%. \u200bThis scarcity \u200btends to \u200cdrive up\u200b the price of bitcoin, creating a sense of shortage and increasing demand. Historically, \u200cthe months leading up to and following halving events have been very volatile\u2064 for bitcoin, but the overall trend has\u200d been a bull market.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the coming new year could be a big one for bitcoin and the \u2063cryptocurrency market. With the potential approval of\u200c ETFs, a possible shift in monetary policy by the \u2064Federal Reserve, and the upcoming bitcoin halving event, there is\u200b a sense\u2064 of momentum and hope for the industry. While there are \u200dalways risks and uncertainties in the crypto market, the positive developments \u200con the horizon suggest that 2024\u2063 could be a\u200c year of significant growth and opportunity for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have gained in recent years. The potential for further growth and adoption is high, making the upcoming year an exciting time for investors and enthusiasts alike. With the positive developments in 2023, the future of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market looks promising<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2119415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2119414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2119414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2119415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2119414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2119414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2119414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}