Bitcoin (BTC) and other major cryptocurrencies soared to 2023 highs in December as a handful of major financial institutions awaited the expected approval of the first US exchange-traded spot fund for Bitcoin.
In December, the US Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly met with representatives of at least seven companies looking to launch a bitcoin ETF in early 2024, including BlackRock, Grayscale Investments, ARK Investments and 21Shares.
But while many crypto investors believe that spot Bitcoin ETFs will open the door to institutional crypto investment and be a catalyst for the market to rise, some critics worry about the potential negative effects of institutional cash flow.
Meanwhile, the legal and regulatory environment for crypto remains uncertain as investors await important court rulings in the coming months regarding the ongoing SEC cases against Ripple, Coin base, Binance and Kraken. By 2024, crypto industry experts are watching for the developments of the crypto ETF, institutional crypto activity and a possible slowdown in the US economy.
Optimism surrounding a wave of potential Bitcoin ETF approval pushed Bitcoin to new 52-week highs above $44,700 in December, but Bitcoin pared some of its gains in the last week of the month.
Bitcoin rose 12.6% on the month in December, to more than $42,600 by the end of 2023. Bitcoin prices are up 156% year to date, the major crypto's best annual performance since 2020.
Ethereum (ETH) prices rose 15.7% in December to end the year at $2,353. Ethereum prices rose 91% in 2023.
Inflation slowed in 2023, leading to a recovery in cryptocurrencies and other risk assets.
Among the most popular altcoins, Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX) were the best in 2023. Solana's recent rally was fueled in part by investor enthusiasm for its network's fast transaction speeds and cheap fees, along with a handful . of self-coin flights for Solana users.
The total market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency market was more than $2.8 trillion in November 2021, but fell below $800 million in the worst crypto winter of 2022. The market value recovered to $1.7 trillion by 2024.
