- Cryptocurrencies have put up resistance since the FTX crash 14 months ago.
- Bitcoin rose by 150%, while other tokens like Ether and Solana also made huge gains.
- The rise has led to the total market value of digital assets doubling to more than $1.6 trillion.
When FTX collapsed in November 2022, it looked like cryptocurrencies had hit rock bottom.
Bitcoin was mired in a prolonged slump and trading 75% below its all-time high, and financial watchdogs were preparing to start cracking down on the digital asset to make sure nothing like the blow-up of Sam Bankman-Fried’s business empire could happen. It happens again.
Fourteen months later, cryptocurrencies have bounced back in a stunning comeback — culminating last week in the SEC’s approval of 11 bitcoin exchange-traded funds, after months of speculation.
Read more: Bitcoin ETFs just received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Here’s everything you need to know about the groundbreaking decision made by the watchdog.
Excitement in the run-up to the SEC’s decision, better-than-expected U.S. growth, and investors’ belief that the Federal Reserve will soon begin cutting interest rates are all factors that have sent the large-cap currency higher. It is currently priced at just over $41,000, 150% above the level it was trading at on November 11, 2022 – the day FTX filed for bankruptcy.
Cryptocurrency bulls believe that Bitcoin’s amazing run could continue for a while longer, thanks to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Standard Chartered and Fundstrat Perma Bull Tom Lee are among the names that believe the FSA’s approval of ETFs will help them rise above $100,000 for the first time, while other analysts described its decision as a “watershed moment.” And “changing the rules of the game.” “For encryption.”
The large-cap token isn’t the only cryptocurrency to rebound in the wake of the FTX fiasco.
The price of Ethereum, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has surged 94% to nearly $2,500 as BlackRock attempts to launch a separate ETF to track its price, while altcoins Solana and Avalanche both posted triple-digit gains.
This surge in cryptocurrencies has led to the overall valuation of the cryptocurrency sector doubling since November 2022, with the total market capitalization of the industry rising from $740 billion to $1.6 trillion as of Thursday. The market value of Bitcoin alone jumped from $400 billion to $840 billion.
The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has rebounded from the “crypto winter” lows.
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It should come as no surprise that the combination of that impressive comeback and the SEC’s decision to open up cryptocurrencies to institutional investors for the first time has led to more online buzz around bitcoin and other tokens.
The number of people searching for bitcoin jumped about 50% this month, according to data from The Block and Google Trends — a return to form after interest in the once-volatile asset waned in the wake of the FTX fiasco.
Just over a year after the stunning fall of Bankman-Fried, cryptocurrencies are back on the rise — in a rebound that has the world of traditional finance and retail investors talking about digital assets again.