Bitcoin (BTC) starts 2024 160% higher than a year ago — and arguably the year’s biggest news event is due within days.
BTC price strength endured over the yearly candle close, with no last-minute volatility disrupting either bulls’ or bears’ plans.
What’s next? The first half of January is set to be unlike any other in Bitcoin’s history — the deadline for approving the United States’ first spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF) is here.
Opinions over how markets will react to the decision — whether good or bad — are mixed.
Some believe that a green light will open the floodgates of institutional investment capital and that Bitcoin will never be the same as a result. Others see an ETF launch as ultimately a mixed blessing and that the immediate reaction to greenlighting it will be a snap BTC price retracement.
Two more important countdowns within the next 4 months than the one tonight #Bitcoin ETF
Halving
NYE
— James Van Straten (@jimmyvs24) December 31, 2023
2024 is set to be significant throughout — just four months away lies Bitcoin’s next block subsidy halving, and on-chain data shows how miners are preparing for a shock to the system.
Network fundamentals are already starting the year right — data sees a 1.5% difficulty increase this week, taking it to new all-time highs.
That could easily change, however, as ETF tensions boil over — a rejection, after all, is not off the cards but is a scenario that many have begun to forget.
Will BTC break out upon spot Bitcoin ETF approval?
New year’s fireworks were distinctly absent from BTC price action as 2024 came around — BTC/USD greeted the new year well within an established trading range.
The start of a new 12-month candle went almost unnoticed as markets offered modest upside toward $43,000, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Volatility could easily have changed the mood around the close, but as throughout the Christmas period, no major trend continuation was on the table.
Analyzing how the first weeks of the year could shape up, market participants suggested that an ongoing…
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