As the December 29 deadline set by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fast approaches, applicants for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) are in a race against time to finalize their filings. This critical deadline is pivotal for firms hoping to be part of the first wave of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals slated for early January 2024.
Bloomberg's analysis of the 2023 cryptocurrency market reveals a dramatic shift from the previous year's downturn, with Bitcoin leading a significant market resurgence. After a $1.5 trillion market wipeout in 2022, Bitcoin's value soared by over 160% in 2023, adding about $530 billion to its market capitalization. This bullish trend was mirrored in smaller tokens, including Solana, where a $100,000 investment at the beginning of the year would have grown to over $800,000.
The Bitcoin network's mining power, measured by its hash rate, achieved a historic high on Christmas Day, leading to increased challenges for miners in the face of declining profitability. Data from Blockchain.com revealed that the hash rate soared to 544 exahashes per second (EH/s), a milestone also noted by Bitinfocharts over the same weekend.
J. Michael Dennis, ll.l, ll.m