2024 has been predicted as a good year for cryptocurrencies, with many investors and analysts anticipating considerable growth. There are many reasons for that, especially in the Bitcoin environment. ETFs were finally approved on January 10th, and the next halving is expected to take place in April. Historically, when Bitcoin is doing well, the altcoins perform much better, too, so investors have actual reasons to be stoked for 2024. There’s also the fact that the past few years have been challenging for the digital asset market.
After the strong rally of 2021, prices collapsed in 2022. The following year, 2023, was expected to attract growth and help prices climb, and while they didn’t plummet as severely during this period, the markets were also prone to stagnation. The baton was passed to 2024, and it seems that investors won’t have long to wait in order to see results. It is now time to buy Bitcoin before the values become too steep in order to have a strong portfolio.
Price rally
Historical data shows that after values have plummeted for a while, there will be a period of growth. The gains are later corrected, and so on. That’s the way the crypto market has been since its early days. Now, it seems that it could become more mature and stable, but there’s still more consolidation that needs to be done. As of February 28th, the Bitcoin price recorded a 10% rally, with the total price movement throughout the month being 50%. Much of the growth has been attributed to the upcoming halving event.
While the bulk of the halving-adjacent growth occurs after the event, it’s not unheard of for growth to occur before as well. Intense price action is a common thing when something exciting is about to happen in the Bitcoin world. The launch of the exchange-traded funds has also caused the price action to skyrocket. While in the very beginning, investors were disappointed because the announcement didn’t cause an immediate rally, they have reason to rejoice now.
However, some market researchers are concerned that the growth might prove to be unstable. The steep funding rates are a significant concern, as some believe they could be a sign of heavy leverage. This trend could eventually lead to liquidation-driven corrections that can be quite substantial and negate much of the latest growth.
Different opinions
As it always happens in the crypto ecosystem, opinions differ on whether a price is on the right path or not. While some believe that it is overextended and might collapse if the same trend continues, others are confident that this is an unlikely scenario. According to this view, the current rally has the necessary strength to sustain the growth and can recover in case of a drop.
Some have expressed the view that the rally is mainly powered by derivatives and their actions and that the demand for exchange-traded funds and their inflows only adds to the growth. There was considerable strength in the $53K area, with the spot quite challenging to surpass. However, since the demand persisted and volumes remained high, it was a given that the momentum would start to build sooner or later and begin yielding results.
Regarding the bullish rally, market analysts have discussed the fact that the relative strength index was well above 70. During the past years, when similar rallies began to pick up speed, prices stayed in an uptrend for approximately 355 days before pushing forward to the 70 level. Regardless, it’s important to remember that Bitcoin is still roughly 20% lower than its all-time high of 2020, and that investors expect the current rally and halving to take the values higher than ever before.
The $80,000 level is anticipated, but there are many who believe that 2025 will bring Bitcoin to the $100,000 level.
Sellers
The massive surge wasn’t good news for all members of the market. Short sellers lost $161 million in the aftermath of the surprise rally. Roughly $270 million in shorts were liquidated all over the cryptocurrency market almost immediately. It’s not just the Bitcoin investors and traders that have to deal with the losses, but also those who invested in altcoins such as Ethereum. Liquidations across that market reached $44 million in the same twenty-four-hour timeframe.
While bitcoin cooled off after the initial surge, the impact remains. The rapid changes led many investors to say that the market was incredibly fired up, meaning that the per-person trade volumes were similar to the ones recorded in November 2021, during the bullish rally at the time. The pressure resulting from institutional buying is also quite elevated and continues to mount. This is an expected result of the introduction of ETFs, an asset class that allows retailers and institutions to deal with cryptocurrencies and enjoy their advantages without having to deal with volatility.
The ETF market itself is overpowering roughly a quarter of the coins currently produced on the network. Other investors are also enthusiastic about the growth in spite of the losses. Several marketplace experts have offered their opinions on the matter, with many believing that this is the unquestionable beginning of the 2024 bull run.
Many have echoed the same sentiments, with some investors joking that sleepless nights are in store for those looking to grow their profits over the following months.
Institutional adoption
Speaking about further institutional adoption in 2024, many believe that Euro-denominated Bitcoin could be all it takes to increase institutional engagement rates and adoption. The upcoming release of BTC and Ether that are entirely euro-denominated will undoubtedly send ripples through the eurozone and make business owners much more open-minded when it comes to digital assets. While the products have been adopted across several businesses, there is still a long way to go until cryptocurrencies will be treated and viewed the same way as fiat money.
The fact that the participants are also quite diverse is important to note as well. For instance, traditional trading companies can provide the products with much-needed liquidity. There is also interest from hedge funds and small asset managers, a clear sign that the market is developing to include new functionality.
If you’re a crypto investor, you need to remember that the markets remain volatile, and the best way to protect your portfolio is to be attentive and patient and have a solid strategy. That will take you further, even when you’re going through financial quicksand.
