Falconpowers – Cryptocurrency markets, led by Bitcoin, experienced a strong performance in the first quarter of 2024, making it one of the best-performing quarters since its launch in 2008, driven by the restoration of confidence in the global crypto market.
By the end of 2023, the price of one Bitcoin was around $42,000, but by the end of the first quarter of 2024, the price per unit had risen to around $72,000, a 71.5% increase.
The price of $72,000 represents a new all-time high for Bitcoin, surpassing the previous peak recorded in November 2021 at $68,700, according to historical data for the currency.
This surge is attributed to the approval of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. market and the regulatory crackdown, including the arrest of platform CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, and the closure of platforms accused of corruption.
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization increased by 61.21% to $2.66 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, which is an unprecedented increase compared to other global investment sectors such as gold, stock markets, currencies, and direct investments.
Additionally, the trading volume of cryptocurrencies rose by 36.01% from $47.76 billion on January 1, 2024, to $64.96 billion on March 31, 2024.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continued its upward trajectory in performance and growth, becoming the eighth most valuable asset in the world with a market capitalization of $1.414 trillion.
On March 14, 2024, Bitcoin reached an all-time high, closing at $73,097, and its dominance increased from 51.88% at the end of 2023 to 53.65% on March 31, 2024, as a percentage of the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, the number of Bitcoin holders increased more than any other investment sector, with a 1.1% rise from 52.61 million to 53.21 million owners.
Bitcoin halving occurs when the mining reward for Bitcoin is halved. The blockchain network takes approximately four years to unlock an additional 210,000 blocks, which was set by the creators of the blockchain to reduce the continuous supply of the cryptocurrency in the market for selling purposes.
Bitcoin halving is expected to occur by the end of April, reducing the cryptocurrency’s mining rewards from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 Bitcoin.
By the end of March, around 19.65 million Bitcoins had been traded, leaving only about 1.35 million units to be issued through mining rewards.
previous post
