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One day after Bitcoin broke the USD 100k mark, speculation over where the digital asset is heading next runs rampant. The cryptocurrency reached an all time high of USD 103.7k on Wednesday, though it has since fallen below the USD 100k mark. It has more than doubled in value this year, with a more than 50% increase in value over the past four weeks since US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory, Bloomberg reports. The total value of the crypto market has doubled to a record of over USD 3.8 tn, with BTC alone hitting a value of just shy of USD 2 tn.
Trump’s pro-crypto agenda supercharged digital assets: The US president previously stated that he intends to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and to gather a national stockpile of bitcoin. He also nominated pro-crypto businessman Paul Atkins to serve as the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The president-elect also recently launched a new decentralized finance venture — World Liberty Financial — for cryptocurrency trading.
Could the USD 100k milestone signal a new era for BTC? “Bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream — this momentum is fuelled by institutional adoption, advancements in tokenisation and payments, and a clearer regulatory path,” Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of US crypto firm Galaxy Digital, told Reuters. Other experts expect the momentum to continue.
Digital asset funds are taking over: Sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and family offices have expressed plenty of interest in 2024 in bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs), as they generated over USD 76 bn in investments since their launch. “Roughly 3% of the total supply of bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money,” global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Geoff Kendrick said.
Still, it is not all rosy in crypto’s future: Despite the recent rally, plenty of investors still believe that cryptocurrencies are too volatile and unpredictable to be a mainstream asset class, with long term price behaviour depending on larger market conditions. Cryptocurrencies have also been previously criticized for consuming large amounts of energy and their active use in crime around the world.
MARKETS THIS MORNING-
Asian markets are mixed this morning, capping off a volatile week amid political turmoil in South Korea. The Kospi is still down, alongside the Kosdaq and Japan’s Nikkei. On the upside, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading up along with China’s CSI 300. Meanwhile, Wall Street futures are unchanged as US investors await the jobs report today.
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ADX |
9,277 |
+0.1% (YTD: -3.1%) |
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DFM |
4,820 |
-0.7% (YTD: +18.7%) |
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Nasdaq Dubai UAE20 |
3,904 |
+0.1% (YTD: +1.6%) |
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USD : AED CBUAE |
Buy 3.67 |
Sell 3.67 |
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EIBOR |
4.5% o/n |
4.3% 1 yr |
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TASI |
11,932 |
+0.4% (YTD: -0.3%) |
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EGX30 |
30,840 |
0.0% (YTD: +24.9%) |
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S&P 500 |
6,075 |
-0.2% (YTD: 27.4%) |
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FTSE 100 |
8,349 |
+0.2% (YTD: +8.0%) |
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Euro Stoxx 50 |
4,952 |
+0.7% (YTD: +9.5%) |
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Brent crude |
USD 71.86 |
-0.3% |
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Natural gas (Nymex) |
USD 3.09 |
+0.4% |
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Gold |
USD 2,642.0 |
-0.2% |
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BTC |
USD 97,726.45 |
-3.5% (YTD: +131%) |
THE CLOSING BELL-
The ADX rose 0.1% yesterday on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. The index is down 3.1% YTD.
In the green: Abu Dhabi National Co. for Building Materials (+9.3%), Al Khaleej Investment (+7.3%) and Julphar (+6.4%).
In the red: Ooredoo (-8.2%), National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain (-6.5%) and Gulf Medical Projects Company (-5.8%).
Over on the DFM, the index closed down 0.7% on turnover of AED 653.1 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai also rose 0.1%.
