Since January 1, 2023, the world's largest cryptocurrency has increased by 164%, far surpassing traditional assets such as gold and the S&P 500 stock index. According to CoinGecko , Bitcoin also increased its market share of the total cryptocurrency market from 38% to over 50%. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization increased from $871 billion at the end of last year to $1.7 trillion in 2023.
Bitcoin up 164% year-to-date
Kevin Koh - Co -founder of investment firm Spartan Group said Bitcoin is recovering strongly and is just at the peak of a new cycle.
Bitcoin is expected to rise 55% in the fourth quarter of 2023 on hopes that an exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be approved by the U.S., Reuters reported. Bitcoin’s price rise will add momentum for retail and institutional investors to access digital assets.
Thirteen asset managers including BlackRock and Fidelity have filed ETF applications with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Each fund is expected to attract up to $3 billion from investors in its first days of trading.
Cryptocurrency trading volumes have also rebounded, with total spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges reaching $3.61 trillion in November, up from about $2.9 trillion in January, according to CCData. Meanwhile, the market capitalization of Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin, has surged to an all-time high of $90 billion.
After the collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried in 2022, the challenges for the cryptocurrency sector have not stopped as a series of other "giants" have also fallen into the sights of regulators.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has resigned as CEO of Binance and pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws, along with a $4.3 billion settlement with the US government. Meanwhile, Stephen Ehrlich - co-founder of Voyager Digital was accused of defrauding customers by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In July, Alex Mashinsky - founder of Celsius was arrested in the US, his lawyer said the former CEO refused to plead guilty and wanted to defend himself in court. In November, a jury in New York (US) convicted former CEO of FTX Bankman-Fried of defrauding customers and investors of at least $10 billion.
However, Ripple's XRP token has surged 82% in 2023 after a US judge ruled that selling XRP on public exchanges does not violate securities laws, which is seen as a major legal victory for the cryptocurrency industry.
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