The extraordinary year in which Bitcoin went mainstream

History will remember 2024 as the year of Bitcoin I turned From niche investment to mainstream assets. With the dollar exchange rate breaking the symbolic $100,000 barrier, and the largest financial companies in the world embracing According to the Bitcoin strategy, the orange coin can no longer be rejected. You can still think what you want about Bitcoin, but you can’t ignore it.

The new year promises many exciting possibilities such as its adoption at the highest levels of government, expanding use of Bitcoin as an institutional treasury asset, Organization reform To make the United States more friendly to financial innovation, and the geopolitical dynamics that push Bitcoin into a new era.

Regulatory turning point

In January, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs – a moment that will likely be seen as a turning point in financial history. For years, the SEC Resist Bitcoin ETFs, citing concerns about market manipulation and investor protection. The approval represents a decisive shift in the agency’s stance, sending billions of dollars in liquidity to the market and bolstering confidence in Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class. It was their launch Most successful In the history of ETFs, gold ETFs now hold more assets under management than gold ETFs.

These ETFs have provided an open door for new sources of liquidity to enter the Bitcoin markets, as certain pools of capital cannot be converted into physical Bitcoin, but can purchase regulated financial products such as ETFs. Perhaps most importantly, Bitcoin ETFs have normalized Bitcoin as an investment. Now pension funds, retirement accounts, and institutional portfolios – and the financial advisors who manage them – have a way to achieve exposure to Bitcoin with the same ease as stocks, bonds, and other instruments.

Is lower volatility in the cards for 2025?

Institutional adoption of Bitcoin reaches unprecedented levels in 2024. Bank of New York Mellon, America’s oldest bank, acquired The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the offering of Bitcoin custody services, a move that suggests even the most conservative institutions now recognize Bitcoin’s staying power.

Meanwhile, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has received approval from iShares Bitcoin Trust to offer spot bitcoin ETF options. This has paved the way for more efficient price discovery, which may otherwise discourage Price volatility In 2025.

Although volatility is not inherently bad, it prevents certain types of investors from entering the market. A significant decrease in volatility may in turn increase confidence in the asset, leading to more inflows and thus more price discovery, more dampened volatility, etc., creating a virtuous cycle of adoption and appreciation of Bitcoin as an asset class.

Corporate leaders are leading the charge

Bitcoin’s mainstream moment has also been catalyzed by visionary corporate leaders. MicroStrategy, already well-known as a Bitcoin pioneer, announced a bold plan to raise $42 billion over three years to expand its Bitcoin holdings. Since that announcement, the company has already filed additional paperwork with the SEC to issue more stock, and to purchase more bitcoin. Microstrategy’s treasury operations are Great financial innovation Which will be studied for years to come.

Inspired by MicroStrategy’s leadership, a handful of other companies followed suit in 2024, including Semler Scientific, Metaplanet, and others. In fact, in just the past few days, new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have revealed several new Bitcoin ETFs on the horizon:

• Bitwise foot For something called a “Bitcoin Standard Corporations” ETF, which would contain shares of companies that hold bitcoin in their vaults.
• Strive Asset Management, a company closely associated with Vivek Ramaswamy, foot For a “Bitcoin Bonds” ETF, which aims to offer MicroStrategy Convertible Bonds.
• Taking a similar approach is the REX Shares Bitcoin Convertible Corporate Treasuries ETF invest In convertible bonds issued by companies that hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
• BroShares foot For a hedged ETF that would “strategically connect long positions in stocks or gold with short positions in the US dollar, complemented by long positions in Bitcoin through futures contracts.”

Pro-Bitcoin management

There’s no other way to say it — in one of the most controversial presidential elections in U.S. history, Americans elected a president The pro-bitcoin president In a landslide. On his way to reclaiming the White House, Donald Trump has been vocal about his support for Bitcoin, even delivering a historic keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville.

Key members of the Trump administration have expressed their support for Bitcoin, including RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Don Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, and others. Meanwhile, Congress is getting into the game, with US Senator Cynthia Lummis endorsing A an offer To create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR).

An SBR operation would position the United States as a global leader in sound money, leveraging Bitcoin as a hedging instrument and an asset of geopolitical importance — and perhaps even Help restore Separation of powers within the federal government. Facing the next administration Major economic challengesIt is good that Bitcoin is rightly seen as a tool to meet these requirements.

Where will Bitcoin go in 2025 and beyond?

As we approach the end of 2024, Bitcoin’s market capitalization has risen Transgression Silver and even Saudi Aramco, one of the most valuable companies in the world. With a moment’s passage $100,000 It’s natural to have questions about what the price will be a year from now.

Events in 2024 suggest that the momentum is far from over. Institutional adoption continues to accelerate, regulatory bodies are becoming more Bitcoin-friendly, and public interest is growing. With these tailwinds, 2025 could see prices continue to rise. Numbers like $250,000 and $475,000 It is often shared. Chamath Palihapitiya designed a Bitcoin price model $500,000 to $1.14 million Over the current half-term, which ends in 2028.

With so many variables affecting the price, it is difficult to make any solid predictions. Fortunately, we don’t have to – Bitcoin is an asset that is best used to build generational wealth slowly and steadily over the long term. Bitcoin’s compound annual growth rate is about 25% to 40% over five years. This means that price action, even over two or three years, should be considered short-term. The best way to build wealth with Bitcoin is to save money that you don’t need to access for at least five years Create a savings strategy tailored to your needs.

The extraordinary events of 2024 have made one thing abundantly clear: Bitcoin is a household name that is here to stay. Their monetary properties provide flexibility and reliability that no other assets can provide.