On Tuesday, the world’s largest crypto hit a high of $44,011, a level not seen since April 2022. This takes BTC’s week-to-date gains to 10%. Despite the recent scandals, this milestone mark of $40,000 could be due to removing the rotten fruit from the Bitcoin tree.
In November, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations and agreed to pay a fine of $50 million and step down as the exchange’s CEO. The company also pleaded guilty and agreed to pay the government $4.3 billion in fines and restitution.
deVere CEO Nigel Green comments, “A degree of short-term volatility stemmed from the CZ/Binance scandal and the collapse of FTX, which resulted in a month-long trial convicting the FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. However, the cryptocurrency market has remained bullish. In fact, BTC is up by more than 150% so far this year.”
He goes on to say that “Scandal-driven crackdowns fuel investors. It seems as though global law enforcement and regulatory authorities are cracking down on digital currency executives and companies. This greater regulatory scrutiny looks to be appealing to investors who are piling into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In addition, it would also be attractive to institutional investors who bring massive amounts of capital with them.
We believe Bitcoin ETFs are an imminent inevitability, which would help to drive crypto prices and mass adoption. Should the SEC approval go ahead, it would be a landmark for BTC. This approval would show how BTC is unquestionably part of the global mainstream financial system.”
Consequently, scandal-triggered crackdowns, forecast moves by central banks, and the 2024 halving event are driving Bitcoin prices, and we expect this trend to continue for the rest of this year and into the next.