Bitcoin price breaks $41,000 for the first time in 19 months, here is what to expect in December 

The price of flagship digital asset Bitcoin hit the $41,000 market for the first time since April 2022, early on Monday as the market continues to close the year with a bullish run.

According to Coinmarketcap data, Bitcoin price which has been hovering around the $40,000 level recently, finally surged from under $39,500 to strike above $41,000 on Monday, hitting a 19-month high in the process.

This marks a new year-to-date high for Bitcoin price, which is now up 150% since the turn of the year. However, it is still down around 42% from its November 2021 all-time high of over $69,000.

Recall that the price of the world’s largest and oldest crypto fell below $40,000 in April 2022, signalling the start of the protracted bear market that the industry has endured. However, the market has been rallying in the last months due to the favourable comments and sentiments coming from the United States regarding the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Connecting the dots, this latest upward movement in Bitcoin price reflects the bullish market sentiment fueled by the anticipated approval of ETF as well as the prospects of regulatory advancements, looking at Binance’s recent settlement with the United States Department of Justice. Also, the Bitcoin halving event which comes up once in 4 years will be back in April 2024, which has served as another bullish indicator.

You can read about Bitcoin Halving here: Bitcoin Halving: What’s it About and How Does it Affect the Cryptocurrency?

What could be expected of Bitcoin price in December?

Now heading into the last month of the year, analysts don’t foresee Bitcoin losing steam in December. James Edwards, a cryptocurrency analyst at Finder, said there are already early signs that institutional investors have been speculating on the ETFs’ approval, with inflows to existing Bitcoin futures ETFs ramping up in recent days. 

“At worst, I expect prices will remain flat while investors await confirmation either in charts or from an ETF approval.”

Also, in an X (Twitter) post, Crypto lawyer Joe Carlasare saw “little chance” of a serious Bitcoin correction before ETF approval.

“Why would any big sellers appear when we’re weeks away from likely approval?” said Carlasare.

$60,000 in 2024?

The industry is awaiting a highly-anticipated potential approval window between January 5 and 10, 2024. Analysts have said a mass spot Bitcoin ETF approval could be enough to put the mainstream focus back on the cryptocurrency market.

With 13 bidders, including industry giants like Blackrock and Grayscale, the anticipation is building toward a decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bloomberg’s ETF analysts predict a strong possibility of simultaneous approvals for all pending bids by January 10, which would mark not only a new era of institutional participation and investment in Bitcoin but likely a boost for Bitcoin price as well.

Related post: Bitcoin price jumps over $38,000: Is it a good time to buy or sell?

Comparing the anticipated milestone to Gold, Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo said:

“It’s very likely we are on the eve of a Bitcoin spot ETF. The first commodity ETF was SPDR Gold Trust. It provided a simple way for investors to access gold in their portfolios. When it launched, gold went on to an 8-year rally with no single down year between 2005 – 2012.” 

Also, the iconic Bitcoin Halving is coming by April 2023. The event is usually followed by a massive rally which paints an even brighter future. With these, projections have placed Bitcoin at over $60,000 by April next year and as high as $125,000 by the end of 2024.