Bitcoin’s Bull Run: What’s Driving the Surge in Crypto?

It has been an eventful year for the crypto market, and even the most average investors have caught a whiff of 2024’s many developments. From the ETF’s spot approval to the halving event and regulatory reforms, market participants have seen many factors bolstering overall sentiment. As it is, Bitcoin performances influence other assets; these increases have been a huge plus, reflecting positively on other cryptocurrencies. Although the year has had its lows, so far, many investors consider 2024 as a time for the bulls. In this article, we’ll get into detail on the latest surge in cryptocurrencies, the causes, and the future outlook for market investors. 

Current Market Drivers

Bitcoin for the past month is nearly 10% high, following live updates from the CoinMarketCap, and in one year, the overall gains are over 100%, putting the BTC token at the highest it has been in over a year. This surge over the past months has renewed investor sentiments in these assets, pushing other tokens to new heights. Ethereum, Avalanche, Maker, and Sui are some of the few top performers of today, all leading by over 20% increases. The positives we see today are a reflection of current investor sentiment, market demand, media perception, and more. 

One of the major events behind this surge was the recent assassination attempt on the U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump. Trump’s running mate for the role of Vice President is the first Bitcoin holder to run for the position, and he has always shown a crypto-friendly stance. Trump’s stance on these assets has always been positive as well, with the candidate presenting himself multiple times as pro-crypto. The possibility of these 2 winning the election is one most investors see as promising for the sector, and the assassination attempt did a lot in pushing Trump’s popularity, increasing his likelihood of winning the election. 

Also, the whale accumulation of BTC at its dip fueled positive sentiments in the past few days. Bitcoin dropped below $50,000 recently, and at the time of this decline, whales took the opportunity to accumulate the tokens for rainy days. The rising purchase is a positive sign as it does some good for overall sentiment. 

Economic Factors That Could Be Vital in the Price Increase

Economic conditions like inflation, interest rates, and employment have affected the crypto market over the years. For instance, people tend to consider buying into investments when purchasing power is high. At a time of lower inflation, investors have more to put into the market and are more willing to buy crypto tokens. On the contrary, these individuals focus more on immediate needs and consumption during inflation rather than on assets like Bitcoin. Because interest rate cuts have a direct impact on inflation, they are also a factor that could influence the demand and supply of cryptocurrencies and their performances. 

Tech Developments and Their Impact

With Bitcoin scaling new heights, tech trends and developments have been rolling in, filling the future of blockchain with much enthusiasm. One that really took to the mainstream in the past months is restaking. Restaking is a new concept pioneered by the newly launched Ethereum protocol, Eigen Layer. The process involved validators locking up liquid staking tokens (LSTs) on another network to earn even more rewards. 

Restaking is not like the regular staking protocols investors have seen in the past; it comes with a rare opportunity for stakers to earn extra yields and also build better security on base blockchains. Top Protocols like Renzo, Eigen Layer, and Puffer Finance have been leading this new tech, amassing millions of dollars from investors. 

Some other mainstream trends are decentralized socials, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), political meme coins, and artificial intelligence. Many technological innovations in the blockchain space have brought more attention to the network and are optimizing the system for better adoption. These trends have also done more to solidify the long-term value of blockchain and crypto assets. 

Regulatory Developments

In 2023, crypto assets encountered some of the biggest regulatory hurdles. Some of the things that stood out were the battles between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance and Ripple. However, in recent times, countries around the world are building new rules to accommodate these assets. In the United States, two particular rules were issued: the Financial Innovation and Technology (FIT) for the 21st Century Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. These laws helped define crypt assets’ status as securities and commodities. 

The European Union introduced a comprehensive crypto guide and regulation in May 2023 called the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA). Companies issuing or trading crypto in this region now need to obtain licensing permits. Starting in 2026, service providers would have to defy the decentralized nature of these assets by obtaining the names of senders and beneficiaries. In Asia, crypto and yen transactions are managed by the country’s financial services agency.  

Brazil, Britain, and many other countries are also initiating ways to pipe down illegal activities and money laundering schemes in crypto. The main argument is that these regulations totally defy the essence of decentralized finance. While this is true to a large extent, it could also mean an era of stability and less volatility for these tokens. 

Comparisons Between Previous Price Surges

So far, Bitcoin has had the biggest price increase this year, attaining new heights of $73,000 in March 2024. This is the highest the token has ever gone, and the boost is one of the many reasons investors see 2024 as a promising year. There have been other exciting performances in the past, like the $64,895 recorded on crypto trading platforms on April 14, 2021, and $69,921 in November of the same year. Despite these high heights, BTC recoiled sharply in both instances. This is the longest it has maintained such high rates, currently selling over $60,000.

Potential To Burst in The Future 

With the pro-crypto agenda looming in the U.S., regulatory attempts to accommodate these tokens across countries, and daily tech advancements, amongst many others, the BTC outlook is quite promising. The year 2024 has ushered in the biggest bull run for this asset, and investors are optimistic of many more to come. Ultimately, this sentiment is the same for other crypto tokens in the market.