Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a quick surge on Thursday above $44,000 as it extended its rally supported by anticipation for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S.

BTC Climbed Over $44K

Bitcoin has once again emerged as the best-performing asset class in 2023, outperforming equities, bonds, and gold by a big margin. 

The BTC price has grown by over 150% since the beginning of the year.

Today, the largest crypto by market cap has crossed the $44,000 mark before falling slightly. As of publication time, BTC was changing hands at about $43,735. 

Bitcoin experienced a rise in value in 2023, thanks to a massive surge in institutional interest, underscored by BlackRock’s spot BTC ETF application in June. 

See Also: BlackRock Amends Its Bitcoin Spot ETF To Go Cash

There are currently as many as 13 pending applications, including those from Invesco, ARK Invest, Fidelity Investments, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and recently 7RCC.

Analysts are convinced the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will now greenlight a spot ETF, especially after a court ruled in August that the commission’s reasoning for denying Grayscale’s ETF filing was invalid. Such a product would open up floodgates of funds presently in traditional investment channels.

Recently, news dropped that representatives from BlackRock, Nasdaq, and the SEC met for the second time in a month to discuss the asset manager’s bid to list a spot BTC ETF. 

Prior to that, BlackRock had updated its ETF proposal to include cash redemptions, seeking to satisfy the regulator’s preferences.

While BTC is still well below the historic high of $69,044, it reached during the late 2021 bull run, 2024 promises to be a year of continued growth for the premier crypto.

See Also: ARK Invest Has Amended Its Bitcoin Spot ETF

Is $100,000 Feasible For Bitcoin By Q1 2024

The latest report by Matrixport suggests Bitcoin could hit $50,000 by the end of January 2024. This projection is largely attributed to the expected approval of Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC.

Matrixport analysts compared the highly-awaited launch of bitcoin spot ETFs to the rollout of bitcoin futures by CME Group and then CBOE back in December 2017. 

At the time, BTC’s value also rose considerably, topping $20,000 for the first time in the top crypto’s history.

Looking forward to 2024, well-known analysts have previously said there’s a 90% chance of this approval coming by January 10. 

Per Matrixport, a jump to $50,000 is possible as many investors have purchased shares in BTC mining or related stocks as a proxy.

Further, the next halving when the new issuance of bitcoin will be slashed in half is scheduled for April 2024. The event has historically preceded bull runs for the cryptocurrency market.

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