ETF Or Halving: Analyst Doubles Down On Bullish Year For Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) began 2024 on a positive note gaining by 3.18% in the first week of the year, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The premier cryptocurrency is expected to herald in a bull crypto season, with many investors expecting immediate approval of Bitcoin spot ETF proposals by various asset managers. 

However, regardless of the decision of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the next few days, crypto analyst Ali Martinez believes Bitcoin is still poised for massive gains in 2024 as there is another bullish factor in play. 

In an X post on January 6, Martinez expressed much optimism about Bitcoin’s potential price performance in 2024. He stated that irrespective of developments in the Bitcoin spot ETF saga, BTC is still set for major price surges due to another bullish narrative – namely, the Bitcoin Halving. 

To explain, the Bitcoin Halving is an event in which the block rewards for miners are reduced by 50%. It happens every four years, with the first occurrence being in 2012. The halving event causes a reduction in BTC supply in comparison to demand, causing scarcity which leads to a price increase. 

Whatever happens with the #Bitcoin ETF, remember we have another bullish narrative this year: The $BTC Halving!

It has historically been a catalyst for major price surges. Just take a look at the percentage increases in #BTC price following past halvings. pic.twitter.com/FF1F99l34c

— Ali (@ali_charts) January 5, 2024

Martinez highlighted this fact stating that historically, there has been a significant increase in Bitcoin’s price following past halvings. When the first halving occurred on November 28, 2012, BTC was trading at around $12. In the next year, the token had attained a new price of $1,000. 

A similar phenomenon was noted after the second halving on July 9, 2016, at which Bitcoin was valued at $670. However, By December 2017, BTC had surged to an all-time high of $19,700. The third halving event took place in May 2020, with Bitcoin being traded at $8,821. By November 2021, BTC had surged by 700%, attaining its current all-time high of $68,783.

Based on this price history, Martinez believes that BTC investors are well placed to reap large profits in the coming months as the next Bitcoin halving is set for April 2024. He postulates that these cyclical gains should remain constant, notwithstanding the SEC’s approval for Bitcoin spot ETF or not.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $43,665, experiencing a slight decline of – 0.30% in the last 24 hours. On a larger scale, the leading cryptocurrency has demonstrated resilience over the past seven days, posting a noteworthy gain of 4.07%. 

Over the last year, BTC’s performance has been remarkable, witnessing a substantial surge of 159.94%. However, amidst market fluctuations, there is a noticeable dip in daily trading volume, down by 22.25%, which is currently valued at $26.8 billion.