Bitcoin jumped to a record high on Tuesday, the latest surge in the roller-coaster journey of the world's largest digital currency.
The price briefly crossed $69,000, surpassing its prior all-time high of $68,990.90 from Nov. 10, 2021, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, which cited data from the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.
For years, everyday investors who wanted to trade digital currencies generally had to go to crypto exchanges, a potential deal-breaker for people unfamiliar with bitcoin.
That changed in January when federal regulators voted that ordinary American investors can buy and sell spot bitcoin ETFs in the same way they trade stocks.
The move opened up bitcoin investing to a larger swath of the American public, including potential investors who never quite understood what bitcoin is or how it works, let alone how to buy and sell it. Trading began in earnest.
The vote, taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowed the sale of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, to the public.
Tuesday's record price “marks a turning point for crypto," said Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of the crypto platform Anchorage Digital. "Now, we are seeing exactly what happens when the market has safe, secure, and compliant access to the asset class—and institutions are just getting started.”
SEC approves bitcoin ETFs, clearing way for public trading
ETFs, for the uninitiated, are an investment vehicle akin to a mutual fund. They are traded on exchanges and typically track a specific index or “basket” of stocks, bonds or commodities. They function like stocks, with prices that change throughout the trading day, whereas mutual funds trade once a day at a single price.
Anticipation for the SEC vote drove up the price of bitcoin, which is notoriously volatile. The currency had traded at $17,000 at the start of last year.
The new ETFs are listed on Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, all highly regulated exchanges, according to Reuters.
Investing in a spot-bitcoin ETF allows investors to reap potential profits from bitcoin without the attendant risks of owning bitcoin directly, investment experts said.
Owning bitcoin directly means storing it in a digital "wallet." Using the wallet means maintaining passkeys, encrypted strings of letters and numbers that enable crypto transfers, according to Investopedia. The wallets can be appealing targets for hackers, and the system lacks federal regulation.
The federal securities agency had rejected prior bids for publicly traded bitcoin ETFs, on fears that bitcoin is susceptible to manipulation and fraud. The industry has sought ETF trading for more than a decade.
Two of five SEC commissioners voted against the decision. One of them, Democrat Caroline Crenshaw, called the vote “unsound and ahistorical” in a statement.
Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.
Anticipation for the SEC vote drove up the price of bitcoin, which is notoriously volatile. The currency had traded at $17,000 at the start of last year. The new ETFs are listed on Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, all highly regulated exchanges, according to Reuters.
Bitcoin has attracted the attention of retail and institutional investors, increasing demand fueled by increased media coverage, investing "experts," and business owners touting the value a bitcoin has and will have.
Bitcoin is more stable than it's been in years, and the next halving is fast approaching. Taking current market conditions into account, now might well be the perfect time to invest, so long as you remain cognizant of the risks.
Markets began to recover somewhat in 2023, and early 2024 showed optimism, with expectations for Bitcoin price to surpass $100,000 following the fourth halving at block height 840,000.
If this pattern continues into 2030, the price could peak around 2029 or 2030, potentially aligning with Wood's price prediction. If Wood is correct and Bitcoin reaches $3.8 million, a $100 investment in Bitcoin today would be worth $5,510 in 2030. This translates to a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 95%.
The person who holds the most bitcoin is believed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknown figure behind its creation. Bitcoin has been a business interest for many years, but following the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, businesses accounted for the most bitcoin held.
As of 2024, Bitcoin's highest price ever recorded is $73,844. However, the price has retreated pretty quickly due to the anticipation of Bitcoin halving (which happened on April 20, 2024) and several other factors. You can find the current Bitcoin price on the BitDegree crypto tracker.
Backing a currency is done by the currency's issuer to ensure its value. Bitcoin, gold, and fiat currencies are not backed by any other asset. Bitcoin has value despite no backing because it has properties of sound money.
While this is a lower-bound scenario, we can use it as a baseline to show what it takes for investors to become Bitcoin millionaires. Assuming an annualized return of 30%, one would need to invest roughly $85,500 annually for five years to hit millionaire status. Over 10 years, this number falls to around $18,250.
You might want to sell your crypto under some specific circ*mstances. If there is a lack of blockchain development progress or a string of negative news, you might want to sell your cryptocurrency. If you've reached your investing goals or want to reallocate your holding, you might want to sell your cryptocurrency.
Sarathy concurs that there are risks involved with investing in these cryptocurrencies, including price volatility, cybersecurity concerns and a lack of regulations compared to traditional currency. Ultimately, it's up to each individual user how much risk they want to take.
Bitcoin is a risky investment with high volatility, and generally should be considered only if you have a high risk tolerance, are in a strong financial position already and can afford to lose some or all of your investment.
Several factors fueled Shiba Inu's meteoric rise, including its low entry barrier, viral marketing efforts, and the surging interest in meme-based cryptocurrencies.
An uptick in trading activity over the last few hours supports the increase in the price of Dogecoin and other memecoins, suggesting that investor interest has been rekindled. Data from markets tracker Coinglass shows that DOGE's spot trading volume has increased by 45% over the last four hours to reach $0.83 billion.
Long-term Bitcoin price prediction for 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. Based on the historical price movements of Bitcoin and the BTC halving cycles, the yearly low Bitcoin price prediction for 2025 is estimated at $ 65,438. Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin is predicted to reach as high as $ 169,152 next year.
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