Bitcoin to double ETF approval by 2024, Trump euphoria By Reuters

By Manya Sani

(Reuters) – A more than doubling by 2024 is tied to spot prices on US markets regulator approval, and optimism about easing regulatory hurdles with Donald Trump set to return to the White House.

The world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency hit $100,000 earlier this month, an event that ignited ‘animal spirits’ among supporters of the once-nascent asset class.

A more than 120 percent increase in bitcoin volume this year and a nearly 50 percent jump in ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, have boosted the sector’s market cap to $3.5 trillion, according to CoinGecko data.

Analysts say further gains are expected for 2025.

“We are confident that $100,000 is not the final milestone. We expect bitcoin to hit the $200,000 cycle by the end of 2025,” Bernstein brokerage analysts wrote in a client note earlier this month.

MicroStrategy, the software firm that owns the world’s largest bitcoin corporation, has seen its shares rise nearly fivefold in 2024.

The stock, which recently joined the Nasdaq-100 index, is now seen as a proxy for bitcoin, whose movements are closely tied to sentiment toward the digital asset. A number of smaller companies are following the playbook and allocating a portion of their funds to Bitcoin.

“We expect bitcoin to eventually replace gold as the new-age premier ‘store of value’ asset within the next decade and become a permanent part of institutional multi-asset allocation and corporate treasury management standards,” Bernstein’s note said.

Much of the optimism began in January when the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first ETFs to track the spot price of bitcoin, marking a watershed moment for the broader crypto industry.

The move gave the sector institutional legitimacy and boosted its mainstream appeal as traditional financial heavyweights BlackRock (NYSE: ) and Fidelity launched its products.

The victory of Trump, who pledged to make America the “crypto capital of the planet” later this year, has strengthened the industry’s position. Crypto advocates donated millions during the election, hoping to elect candidates who support the sector.

Most crypto stocks also benefited from the industry-wide rally. The biggest winners of 2024 are MicroStrategy, crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:) and bitcoin miner Hat 8.

On the other hand, many other crypto miners lost the rally for the year due to shrinking margins due to high power and hardware costs.

Shares of Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: ), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: ) and Beat Digital have lost between 26 percent and 32 percent this year.