Crypto wrap: Bitcoin gains on Argentina's endorsement, ETF anticipation

Experts suggest that Bitcoin may soon reach the $48,000 level if the momentum persists

The cryptocurrency market witnessed a week of gains on the back of meetings by Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) applicants and the endorsement of Bitcoin by the new Argentinian government. In the past week, Bitcoin gained nearly 2 per cent, and Ethereum was up 1 per cent. Other tokens like Solana (17.5 per cent), Avalanche (7.8 per cent) and Polkadot (9.6 per cent) also saw gains in the week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

"Bitcoin surged past the $44,000 level in the last 24 hours, driven by discussions on Bitcoin ETFs involving BlackRock, Nasdaq, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC)," said Edul Patel, chief executive officer at Mudrex.

In December, Bitcoin has surged 16 per cent and an impressive 165 per cent in 2023 so far.

"The market is thriving with optimism, further fueled by Argentina's official approval of Bitcoin as its currency," Patel added. Argentina's new government on Friday said they will start using Bitcoin for contracts.

Parth Chaturvedi, investments lead at CoinSwitch Ventures pointed out that developments on the regulatory front have also been encouraging.

"France announced the rollout of conditional licenses to Coinbase and Circle, paving the way for them to operate in France. The UK government too stated that their upcoming crypto regulations are getting favourable feedback from industry participants and will aim to make the UK a crypto hub in 2024," he said.

According to Patel, Bitcoin may soon reach the $48,000 level if the momentum persists.

In the coming days, the crypto market may witness volatility.

"Bitcoin is currently positioned near the resistance zone at $44,000-$44,500. On the other hand, Ethereum is trading between two significant levels at $2,130 (support) and $2,450 (resistance). As it's the weekend and Christmas, lower market volume is anticipated, possibly leading to sideways movement for a few days," according to the research team of CoinDCX.