{"id":815979,"date":"2024-12-31T02:14:08","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T08:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/31\/2024-the-extraordinary-year-when-bitcoin-went-mainstream\/"},"modified":"2024-12-31T02:14:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T08:14:08","slug":"2024-the-extraordinary-year-when-bitcoin-went-mainstream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/31\/2024-the-extraordinary-year-when-bitcoin-went-mainstream\/","title":{"rendered":"2024: The Extraordinary Year When Bitcoin Went Mainstream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A view of the New Year’s Eve ‘2024’ Numerals, to be lit up at midnight on December 31, in New York’s … [+]<\/span> world-famous Times Square in United States on December 20, 2023. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>Anadolu via Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

History will remember 2024 as the year bitcoin transformed<\/a> from a niche investment to a mainstream asset. With its dollar exchange rate breaking the symbolic $100,000 mark, and the largest financial firms in the world embracing<\/a> a bitcoin strategy, the orange coin can no longer be dismissed. You can still think whatever you want about bitcoin, you just can\u2019t ignore it.<\/p>\n

The new year promises many exciting possibilities such as adoption at the highest levels of government, expansion of bitcoin\u2019s use as an institutional treasury asset, an overhaul of regulation<\/a> to make the U.S. more friendly to financial innovation, and geopolitical dynamics that propel bitcoin into a new era.<\/p>\n

A Regulatory Turning Point<\/h2>\n

In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs \u2013 a moment that will likely be viewed as a watershed in financial history. For years, the SEC resisted<\/a> bitcoin ETFs, citing concerns over market manipulation and investor protections. The approval marked a decisive shift in the agency\u2019s stance, sending billions of dollars in liquidity into the market and boosting confidence in bitcoin as a legitimate asset class. Their launch was the most successful<\/a> in the history of ETFs and now hold more assets under management than gold ETFs.<\/p>\n

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BlackRock iShares ETF AUM: Gold vs. Bitcoin. (CryptoQuant)<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>CryptoQuant<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These ETFs have provided an open door for new sources of liquidity to enter into the bitcoin markets, since certain pools of capital cannot be converted to physical bitcoin, but can purchase regulated financial products like ETFs. Perhaps even more crucially, bitcoin ETFs have normalized bitcoin as an investment. Pension funds, retirement accounts, and institutional portfolios \u2013 and the financial advisors that manage them \u2013 now have a way to achieve bitcoin exposure with the same ease as stocks, bonds, and other instruments.<\/p>\n

Is Lower Volatility in the Cards for 2025?<\/h2>\n

Institutional adoption of bitcoin reached unprecedented levels in 2024. BNY Mellon, America\u2019s oldest bank, gained<\/a> SEC approval to offer bitcoin custody services, a move signaling that even the most conservative institutions now recognize bitcoin\u2019s staying power.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, BlackRock, the world\u2019s largest asset manager, received approval for the iShares Bitcoin Trust to offer spot bitcoin ETF options. This paved the way for more efficient price discovery, which may dampen price volatility<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n

Although volatility is not inherently bad, it does prevent certain types of investors from entering the market. A meaningful reduction in volatility may lead in turn to higher confidence in the asset, leading to yet more inflows, and thus more price discovery, further dampened volatility, and so on, establishing a virtuous cycle of adoption and appreciation of bitcoin as an asset class.<\/p>\n

Corporate Pioneers Lead the Charge<\/h2>\n

Bitcoin\u2019s mainstream moment was also catalyzed by visionary corporate leaders. MicroStrategy, already renowned as a bitcoin pioneer, announced an audacious plan to raise $42 billion over three years to expand its bitcoin holdings. Since that announcement, the company has already filed additional paperwork with the SEC to issue yet more shares, to buy yet more bitcoin. Microstrategy\u2019s treasury operations are a fascinating financial innovation<\/a> that will be studied for years to come.<\/p>\n

Inspired by MicroStrategy\u2019s leadership, a handful of other companies followed suit in 2024, including Semler Scientific, Metaplanet, and others. In fact, in just the past few days, new filings with the SEC reveal several new bitcoin ETFs on the horizon:<\/p>\n