Bitcoin exceeds $50,000 | CoinDesk JAPAN

The Bitcoin (BTC) bull market briefly stumbled after the debut of the physical ETF on January 11th, but the price has remained unchanged for more than two years as it enters a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) phase. It exceeded $50,000 for the first time.

Even as Bitcoin ETFs raise billions of dollars in their first few weeks of trading, investors are more focused on the billions flowing out of the high-fee Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Bitcoin fell to $38,500 in just a few days after the ETF debuted.

However, in recent weeks, while outflows from GBTC have slowed, inflows to Bitcoin ETFs have continued. On February 8th, outflows from Grayscale remained at 1,850 BTC, while nine other ETFs collected approximately 11,000 BTC. Furthermore, on February 9th, 2,252 coins were outflowed from Grayscale, while nine other ETFs added over 13,000 BTC.

By the way, the amount of newly mined Bitcoins is currently 900 BTC per day (when the halving occurs in April, it will be 450 BTC per day).

The end of the “crypto asset winter”

Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high in November 2021 at approximately $69,000. 2022 was a catastrophe with the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and the subsequent collapse of many major crypto-related companies.

Bitcoin ended 2022 at just over $16,000, down about 75% from its all-time high. Many other crypto assets have fallen even more sharply. This trend continued into 2023, with layoffs and business closures spreading across the industry, alongside falling prices and the collapse of major players.

Although 2023 will be remembered as a bull market for the crypto market, Bitcoin prices were pretty weak for most of 2023. On October 1st, Bitcoin was around $27,000, up more than 65% since the beginning of the year, but a relatively small recovery considering its previous highs.

However, in the fourth quarter of 2023, there was growing confidence that the SEC, which had denied Bitcoin ETF applications for years, would finally approve them in early 2024. Bitcoin rose nearly 60% in the fourth quarter of 2023, ending the year above $42,000.

｜Translation/Editing: CoinDesk JAPAN Editorial Department
｜Image: CoinDesk
｜Original text: Bitcoin Pushes Through $50K for First Time Since Late 2021