The whole weekend has been a busy one for Bitcoin (BTC). After teasing a crossover in the $40K territory last Friday, the premier cryptocurrency by market dominance finally surpassed the $41K point, registering another all-time high not seen since April 2022.
The State of Bitcoin
As of this writing at 9:00 AM UTC on Monday, Bitcoin’s (BTC) price sits at $41,750 recording an increase of almost 6% on the 24-hour chart. The transaction volume was also up by 64% as $25.89 billion worth of transactions took place on the network within the same period as the coin rallied from $39,000 to nearly $42,000 on crypto exchanges.
The digital asset has seen over 150% rally as we approach the final days of 2023, thanks to the anticipation of multiple spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs). As a recap, the financial instrument would allow people to invest or trade based on the price movements of BTC without directly owning the crypto.
“This idea that institutional money in US capital markets is going to have a legitimate, compliant avenue… the expectations are extremely high that that’s really going to take bitcoin to new levels,” Token Bay Capital founder Lucy Guzmarian said in a correspondence with Bloomberg.
BTC is still around 39% away from its record-high valuation in November 2021 at $68,700, but market watchers are confident it will get there soon. Some even think it may surpass it due to pivotal events happening in 2024 for the coin.
Aside from optimism in spot Bitcoin ETF approvals rumored to take place between January 5 to 10, there’s also the Bitcoin halving estimated to take place on April 19, 2024.
A new psychological barrier for Bitcoin is now in place at $48,000 based on analysts. Surpassing that again could send the coin to all-new highs, which could finally let it overtake the November 2021 figures.
Top 5 Bitcoin Whales Now
What’s more, there’s the massive accumulation of traditional institutions of Bitcoin and crypto playing in the background, which is further driving bullish sentiments for the digital currency. To date, the biggest whales in the BTC community include:
1. Satoshi Nakamoto
The pseudonymous cryptographer responsible for the creation of Bitcoin reportedly kept 1.1 million BTC distributed across wallets for over 14 years.
2. Coinbase
The largest cryptocurrency exchange in North America may hold as much Bitcoin as Nakamoto based on Arkham Intelligence assessment. However, an examination of its public wallets and reserves only shows 947,755 BTC holdings.
3. Grayscale
Grayscale has now positioned itself as the largest crypto asset manager globally with its 643,572 Bitcoin stash.
4. Binance
Despite facing a mega lawsuit against US regulators, Binance remains the largest crypto exchange in the world with a Bitcoin haul between 498,147 and 600,000 units.
5. The US Government
The US government is the nation with the largest Bitcoin hoard. Thanks to a series of high-profile busts, it has gradually amassed 205,515 BTC in its coffers.