Bitcoin (BTC-USD) continued its upward climb to define naysayers. In the last week, the most popular cryptocurrency crossed the $1 trillion market capitalization. Its fully diluted market closed at $1.093 trillion over the weekend at a $52,039 price.
In the last week, BTC’s dip to around $50,830 on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2024, proved temporary. Prices responded to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a red-hot January inflation report. Bitcoin buyers decided that a stronger US dollar currency would not hurt. Although the CPI report would force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at a high level, retail demand for BTC would continue.
The effective Federal Funds rate is at 5.33% at the time of writing this article.
Retail investors bought more Bitcoin ETFs in the last week. It added around $2 billion for the week ended Feb. 16.
Bitcoin Halving
In around 60 days, the next Bitcoin halving cycle would reduce the blockchain rewards paid. Miners are paid in Bitcoin for validating transactions and creating new blocks. The halving event happens when the Bitcoin blockchain reaches the 210,000 block threshold. The impact of the halving event is usually positive. Hype ahead of the halving helps increase awareness for BTC. This time, the rising popularity of Bitcoin ETFs should increase demand, raising BTC prices.
