Bitcoin market cap scales $1 trillion

LONDON: The value of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has more than tripled to $52,000 since November 2022. The year 2022 was marked by the high-profile implosion of crypto exchange FTX, which triggered liquidity crises at several smaller crypto firms, CNN reported.

Following bitcoin’s gains in 2023, investors have returned in droves in recent weeks, pushing the asset’s market capitalisation above $1 trillion for the first time since its 2021 heyday, based on data from CoinMarketCap, the report said.

In contrast to traditional currencies, the supply of Bitcoin is limited and is expected to peak in 2140, according to the price-tracking website for cryptocurrencies.

Money flows into Bitcoin have been boosted by the recent launch of exchange-traded funds that invest directly in the cryptocurrency and which have made it easier for retail investors to put money into the asset. The value of bitcoin has risen nearly 13 per cent since January 10, when US regulators gave the green light to investment firms wishing to offer such funds, CNN reported.

Bitcoin remains far from its all-time high of $69,000, reached in November 2021, but industry players expect it to keep climbing this year and that peak may be surpassed, CNN reported.

Part of the bullishness is down to Bitcoin’s upcoming “halving” -- a feature of its design that automatically halves the rate of new coins entering circulation, an event taking place roughly every four years.