Bitcoin, the number one cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is within a sustained uptrend as we approach the 2024 halving event. A rise in inflows in Bitcoin ETFs and an increase in demand for the coin are the major factors driving the BTC price up.
This sustained rise in demand for bitcoin may lead to another new all-time high before the next bitcoin halving, tipped to occur between 19 and 21 April this year. The bitcoin price performance has been tremendous since the start of 2024 and is set to continue beyond 2025.
In this article, we will discuss how bitcoin performed in February and the impending crypto bull run. We will also analyze bitcoin’s major peaks and downs since 2009. Finally, we shall present a few bitcoin price predictions for the current year.
Recent Bitcoin Price Surges
As mentioned above, the price of bitcoin has been trending for the greater part of 2024. However, the leading cryptocurrency performed outstandingly in February and it seems the same trend is persisting in March.
For example, in a 24 hour period that stretched from 28 to 29 February the bitcoin price surged by about 6% from $59,831 to $63,585. As a result, during the same period its market capitalization rose by 1.5% to approximately $2.38 trillion. Also, within the same 24 hour period its trading volume increased by 65.6% to reach $34.75 billion.
The main driver of bitcoin’s uptick is the rising adoption of spot BTC ETFs as well as the approaching halving event. During the first week of March the price of bitcoin looked set to surpass the $67,150 resistance level. If its price had closed above that resistance zone it might have surpassed its previous all-time, attained in November 2021.
It is also important to note that during that period bitcoin had a market dominance of 52.36% although the entire crypto market was performing well leading to a total crypto trading volume of over $110.12B.
February Bitcoin Price Surge
Bitcoin’s price movement in February is worth mentioning and analyzing. This is because during that month bitcoin gained by over 44%, overcoming the $50,000 and $60,000 resistance levels and even reached $64,000 for a short period.
Due to the sell-the news that started before the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs the BTC price spiked from $40,000 to the current level. Bitcoin overcame several resistance levels including the $52,000; $52,985 and $56,000 marks.
Then, in its upward price trajectory bitcoin faced strong resistance at the $64,000 and $69,000 points. Despite its recent strides several analysts believe that bitcoin will have stronger price thrusts in the near future than before.
For this reason, Alex Thorn, the head of research at Galaxy, said, “We haven’t even begun to reach the heights this is likely to go.” His conviction is based on the fact that the spot bitcoin ETFs recently launched in the United States are a real game-changer and will push the demand for bitcoin even higher.
Swissblock, a crypto analytics firm shares the same sentiment. As per a recent CoinDesk publication, Swissblock said, “Just the start of what is to come. Sustained buying pressure and strong bullish signals from both oscillators and moving averages suggest that BTC is poised for continued upward momentum.”
Forth Coming Bull Market Overview
There is no doubt that the crypto market is anticipating a strong crypto bull run that may start this year. The recent BTC price surge that pushed its value over $63,000 has consolidated the market’s bull run expectation.
Bitcoin’s rally past $63,000 could be an indication of a greater price thrust to come since we are approaching the next halving event. Commenting on X, Peter Brandt, a veteran trader said that bitcoin’s surge above the 15-month channel boundary shows that it is targeting a high value level such as $200,000 for the on-coming bull market.
The above graph is an illustration of bitcoin’s expected rally. On a similar note, Bitwise Asset Management CEO believes that bitcoin’s ride in the oncoming bull market may take us to $250,000 within a very short period.
Factors behind the Oncoming Crypto Bull Market
There are several reasons why many crypto investors are being drawn to bitcoin. Let’s briefly discuss some of these factors that include the funds inflow into spot BTC ETFs, the approaching halving event and institutional adoption.
Spot bitcoin ETFs and Institutional Adoption: The approval and launch of spot BTC ETFs in the United States have attracted much investment in the bitcoin market. The BTC ETF operators like Grayscale, Fidelity, and BlackRock have attracted much inflows into the ETFs since mid-January. Recently, BlackRock acquired over 122,000 within six weeks to support its ETFs.
BTC which the ETF issuers hold will create new dynamics in the bitcoin market before and after the halving event. Definitely, the ETF operators’ acquisition of more bitcoin will change the intra-crypto capital rotations within the market.
The fact is that it is very easy for bitcoin holders to swap BTC on the exchanges or in their wallets with other cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, it is very difficult for the ETF operators to swap bitcoin held in ETFs which limits its circulating supply even after the halving event. This is likely to push the price of bitcoin up.
An X user by the name Intangiblecoins made it clear in his/her post that due to BTC ETFs the bitcoin price narrative before and after the halving event will likely be very different from what used to happen in the past pre-halving and post-halving periods.
Intangiblecoins said on X, “I think it’s reasonable to see a new all-time high within a matter of weeks. We’re starting to hear Bitcoin spoken about alongside gold and treasuries as macro hedge assets – just this morning I heard a traditional finance research analyst suggesting Bitcoin is becoming a genuine “hedge to fiat debasement” on national television.”
He/she added, “Bitcoin is prime time now, and while it might be hard to believe, things are just starting to get exciting.”
Bitcoin Price Analysis over the Last Decade
Based on the bitcoin history the coin has experienced price ups and downs since 2009. As we have realized in the past, these cycles often present opportunities for investors to buy bitcoin. This is because they anticipate the price of bitcoin to rise at certain points after the halving event.
Therefore, they target to buy BTC a few days or months before or after major events such as the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs or bitcoin halving. Let’s look at times when the bitcoin price surged remarkably in the past.
April 2013: On 12 April 2013 the bitcoin price jumped by 42% from $98.20 to $150.85. Nonetheless, that came a day after its price dropped from $232.11 to $98.20.
November 2013: In a similar manner to what occurred on 12 April, the bitcoin price spiked by 42% from $494.94 to $712.76. The reason for such a surge was a growing interest in the coin. That spike was the largest price increase in the BTC price history.
December 2017: At the end of December 2017 the price of bitcoin increased by 27% from $14,057 to $17,899. The trigger for that price rise was the bitcoin news that both Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) had launched bitcoin futures trading.
Looking at the above bitcoin price movements it may be difficult to tell exactly when its value may increase or decrease in order to time trade entries. However, in the past many investors acquired bitcoin a few months before the bitcoin halving events when the asset was in accumulation periods.
Some investors even purchased bitcoin about 6 months before the halving. This is because bitcoin bull markets often come after the halvening event. Nonetheless, some investors choose to buy bitcoin a few days, weeks or months after the BTC halving.
At the time of writing bitcoin, 11 March, the price of bitcoin is $71,643.14 after gaining by 52.2% within the last 30 days. This comes a day after it recorded a new all-time high of $69,427.72 on 8 March this year.
Conclusion
At times the value of bitcoin rises by large margins depending on the existing market conditions and sentiment. In 2013 there were two occasions when the price of bitcoin increased by 42% within 24-hour periods. On 8 March bitcoin attained a new all-time high of $71,741.69, reached earlier today.
