The last days of February have seen the Bitcoin environment reach levels it hasn’t seen since November 2021, when it reached its all-time high levels that approached $70K. However, shortly after those values were achieved, BTC encountered a massive correction that resulted in much of its gains being lost. While the market has been steadily recovering since then and investors buy Bitcoin p2p again, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to return to the previous levels. However, both investors and researchers are optimistic about the current year and believe prices are very likely to rise soon.

Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/bitcoin-I0TDRP0fj6Y

$60K

Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency in the world, with a market cap level that dwarfs even the most successful altcoins. As such, anytime it performs well, the rest of the market does well, too. And when it deals with challenges, the entire crypto market suffers as well. As of the end of February, the crypto environment is doing quite well, recording growth amounting to roughly 4% in just twenty-four hours. This allowed the coin to trade at 458,504. On February 28th, as of 13:29 UTC+0, Bitcoin was a little over $60K.

This is a growth of 38% based on the monthly chart and nearly 14% per the weekly chart. While the gains might decrease during March, the growth is an obvious indicator that the next halving is approaching, and the marketplace is picking up speed as a result. This price rally didn’t occur out of the blue but was, in fact, tied to the announcement made by a business intelligence, cloud and mobile software company that it had acquired no fewer than 3,000 BTC. That is the rough equivalent of $155 million.

Institutional Investors

The fact that business, retail and institutional investors hold so much power in the crypto environment isn’t a surprise for analysts, many of whom were expecting these exact outcomes in light of the recent ETF approvals. The exchange-traded funds act as a means of increasing digital asset ownership. Since most corporations are concerned that Bitcoin’s volatility will have a negative impact on their assets and cause them to lose considerable amounts of capital, most were unlikely to purchase cryptocurrencies. However, many are also intrigued by the assets’ ability to drive value.

The ETFs are the best of both worlds, as they allow transactions and the benefits of ownership without getting the users directly involved in transactions. Their arrival was widely anticipated by the community, but it didn’t elicit the price growth most investors were expecting. What it did help with was better consolidation, something the market needs in light of the incoming halving event. The potential for the release of an Ether-based exchange-traded fund has been at the forefront of user interest as well.

Market Maturity

But the excitement for a new asset class might draw attention from another market phenomenon that is no less important but which is much more quiet and, therefore, more difficult to spot: the maturation of the cryptocurrency market. The push towards regulations and integration in mainstream markets is one of the chief indicators that the marketplace is starting to change. While so far it has been governed by fluctuations, with volatility levels often so extreme that even those that never traded crypto were aware of them, it’s not impossible to envision a future in which that might change, and the prices of Bitcoin and the more secure altcoins will become more stable and more accessible to predict.

The fact that cryptocurrencies are starting to become a mature market is also good news for those waiting for increased and better technological integration in the financial space. While there’s no denying the fact that traditional markets have many advantages, they can also benefit from new tech developments. Not long ago, the mere idea that the two ecosystems could merge seamlessly would have seemed out of the question, but it appears now that it is closer to reality than ever before.

NFT

After NFTs enjoyed a time of high popularity and engagement levels, Ordinals arrived to steal a bit of their spotlight for a while. Now, it seems that they’re ready to reclaim their throne, and artificial intelligence could lend a helping hand in the endeavor. There are thousands of collections online and almost 14 million users on the NFT market, meaning that there’s no shortage of possibilities, both artistic and financial. However, data fragmentation remains a problem for the relatively new ecosystem.

The information is scattered across many different sources, so having a more comprehensive view of the marketplaces is quite challenging. General blockchain analytics can provide some insights, but more nuance is needed in order to get the whole scope of the non-fungible token environment. As such, users must still rely on and build their strategies based on incomplete information. In the rapidly changing crypto world, having the necessary information readily available is a must, and establishing anything in their absence is a daunting task.

More in-depth data and information can provide solutions for issues that can arise in the market, such as someone pumping the prices artificially or someone trying to profit off of the investments unfairly. The focus on community is crucial as well. Open-source platforms are used to incentivize users. Tokenized rewards and several other mechanisms can be used to assist with collective knowledge and foster a democratization of the data collection and management environment.

When more people work together towards a common goal, the result is typically richer, more complex and multifaceted. Since the cryptocurrency environments are fundamentally decentralized, having more people work together can also enhance the sense that everyone is entitled to ownership. Moreover, it can also increase the sense of responsibility that comes with this ownership. Altogether, this makes for safer and more reliable crypto spaces.

The cryptocurrency market must still face several challenges in 2024. Prices must still be secured, and the support levels must be maintained. But investors are optimistic that the year will be far superior to the one that preceded it and that it won’t take as much effort to maintain a solid portfolio.