Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, broke past $41,000 on Dec. 4 for the first time since a fierce digital asset crash in May 2022 that ushered in a months-long crypto winter.
The ascendant crypto has since made a remarkable comeback: at the beginning of this year, it was changing hands for not more than $17K; it is now up well over 130% year-to-date.
Against this backdrop, well-known Bitcoin bull Max Keiser envisions a new record high for BTC.
BTC Primed To Test New Highs
The case for a continued Bitcoin rally to $42,000 and higher by the end of the year has strengthened as BTC crossed the $41K threshold on Monday for the first time since April 2022. BTC was up 4.9% in the last 24 hours to $41,415.86 per coin at press time, according to CoinGecko.
A combination of optimism surrounding the likely imminent approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and recent comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell are leading to bullish price action. “The FOMC is strongly committed to bringing inflation down to 2% over time and to keeping policy restrictive until we’re confident that inflation is on a path to that objective,” Powell said during a scheduled appearance at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Investors now appear optimistic about investing in Bitcoin as they anticipate the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to finally greenlight a spot BTC ETF after a decade of waiting. A number of high-profile Wall Street firms like BlackRock, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity are poised to launch such spot-based ETFs.
Amidst the bullish mood, Max Keiser, the senior Bitcoin advisor to El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, believes Bitcoin is on track to spike to a new historic high.
Two years ago, on Nov. 10, 2021, Bitcoin set its highest price ever of $69,044 before plunging 65% the following year due to a wave of bankruptcies in the crypto sector and bearish macroeconomic forces. BTC is currently down 42.44% from this 2021 pico top.
With $42,000 in sight, Max Keiser is not the only market participant who is bullish about the future of the flagship crypto. As ZyCrypto reported previously, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz forecasted that BTC could soar to its old Nov. 2021 highs after ETF approval. Novogratz is confident that billions of dollars, if not more, will flow into the ETF sector within the first year after a Bitcoin ETF goes live.
Bloomberg analysts expect the SEC to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF by Jan. 10, 2024 — which will ultimately be a game-changing moment for the digital assets industry.
