2024-04-03 09:45:00
Cryptocurrency markets, led by Bitcoin, lived during the first quarter of 2024, one of the best performing quarters since its launch in 2008, driven by the restoration of confidence in the global crypto market.
At the end of 2023, the price of a Bitcoin unit reached approximately 42 thousand dollars, but by the end of the first quarter of 2024, the unit price rose to settle at approximately 72 thousand dollars per unit, an increase of 71.5%.
The price of 72 thousand dollars is the highest historical peak for a Bitcoin unit, surpassing the peak recorded in November 2021 of 68.7 thousand US dollars, according to historical data for the currency.
This rise comes with approvals for the introduction of cryptocurrency trading funds in the American market, and the reorganization of the market, through the arrests of platform heads such as Sam Bankman Fried, founder of the FTX platform, and the closure of platforms accused of corruption.
The global cryptocurrency market rose 61.21% to $2.66 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, an increase not recorded in any of the global investment sectors (gold, financial markets, currencies, direct investment).
Also, the trading volume of cryptocurrencies increased by 36.01% from $47.76 billion on January 1, 2024, to $64.96 billion on March 31.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continued to show its upward trajectory in performance and growth, and became the eighth most valuable asset in the world in terms of market capitalization of $1.414 trillion.
On March 14, 2024, Bitcoin reached its new highest level ever, closing at $73,097, and its dominance rose from 51.88% at the end of 2023 to 53.65% on March 31, of the total market value of cryptocurrencies.
Also, the number of Bitcoin owners increased, more than any new entrants to various investment sectors, as the number of owners increased 1.1% from 52.61 million to 53.21 million.
The Bitcoin halving occurs when the Bitcoin mining reward is divided in half, and it takes the blockchain network about four years to open an additional 210,000 blocks, which is the standard set by the blockchain founders to continuously reduce the rate of submission of the cryptocurrency to the markets for the purpose of sale.
The Bitcoin halving is expected to occur by the end of April, when rewards for cryptocurrency miners will halve from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
As of the end of last March, about 19.65 million Bitcoins had been traded, and only about 1.35 million units remained to be issued through miner rewards.
The halving reduces the rate of creation of new currencies, thus reducing the amount of new supply available, and this leads to prices rising to new levels, which is what cryptocurrency market analysts expect.
The final halving is expected to occur in 2040, when the number of Bitcoins in circulation reaches the theoretical maximum supply of 21 million.
Bitcoin mining is the process through which people use computers or mining devices to participate in the Bitcoin blockchain network as transaction processors and validators, to issue and sell the currency.
The Bitcoin halving aims to counteract any inflationary effects by reducing the reward amount and maintaining scarcity. However, this inflation “protection” mechanism does not protect Bitcoin users from the inflationary effects of the fiat currency into which they must be converted.
The US stock market continued to rise in the first quarter, with returns supported by strong profits and endless investor appetite for names seen as benefiting from the emerging artificial intelligence boom, such as Microsoft and Nvidia.
The Wall Street index rose 10.2% in the last first quarter and 29.8% in the past 12 months, which is much less growth than achieved in the cryptocurrency market, specifically Bitcoin.
The continuous big gains were in giant technology companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia. In the first quarter of 2024, the latter’s shares rose 82%, Microsoft’s shares increased 12%, and Meta’s shares rose 37%.
Thus, shares of major technology companies continued to achieve gains in the market, with the US technology index rising 13.1% in the first quarter.
While bonds fell in the first quarter, with the US core bond index falling 0.8%, which means that investment in the bond market has lost the momentum it gained over the past two years, from global increases in interest rates.
TRT Arabic – Agencies
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