The highly anticipated approval of a series of Spot Bitcoin ETFs by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will push Bitcoin's market dominance higher. It will continue to feed Bitcoin's price until it peaks by the end of 2024. Not only the ETFs matter, but Bitcoin will also undergo another halving event, which slashes the amount of Bitcoin that miners can receive by 50%, making Bitcoin much scarcer than it is today. A lot of capital will be sucked into the Bitcoin ecosystem, and stored as value for a longer period. Bitcoin stands a good chance to become the anchor of a new monetary system, as the dollar starts eroding due to the now-expected new round of quantitative easing.
Playtime will be over: the United States has decided it wants to rule the world for another century and has removed the last barriers for it to succeed. After the fall of FTX and the takeover of Binance, which is now under surveillance, the path is clear to carry out the plan. Big money, not only in the United States, such as institutions, and pension funds, will now allocate capital towards Bitcoin, through investments into Spot Bitcoin ETFs like Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin ETF, while COINBASE offers custodial solutions. Much of the Western world, which already depends on large asset management firms like Blackrock, will now greenlight these gradual investments, and guarantee a more controlled growth model for the price of Bitcoin.
Once the Spot Bitcoin ETFs have had their moment it's straight off to the races for the release of a series of Spot Ethereum ETFs. Ethereum still has the biggest community, despite all the Solana hype. Ethereum is decentralized, and Solana is centralized. Ethereum's blockchain never blacked out, Solana's has, on more than one occasion. Ethereum is now fully battle-tested and still operates as the world's largest Dapp and DeFi ecosystem. It has therefore anchored its position as a reliable market leader and has successfully acquired the stage of exponential network growth.
Ethereum's achievements, including its successful transition to an energy-sufficient Proof of Stake blockchain, reducing 99% of its emissions, have attracted lots of interest from institutions. These institutions have been begging for a chance to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum through a well-regulated investment vehicle they are familiar with: the ETF. 2024 will see a lot of Spot Crypto ETFs launching, and not only in the United States!
Solana has been on a tear this year, exploding in value from beginning in 2023 to today. The Solana market if not the whole cryptocurrency market will correct one day, and chasing this rocket is probably still profitable, but you know you're nearing that much-needed correction. Despite the success story, I remain observant, because I think Solana still carries risks. Ethereum is often compared to Solana, but they are more interoperable than competitive. I guess Ethereum is the more stable project since it has been around much longer, whereas Solana is still searching for its full potential, and this is reflected in its price discovery. It is an example of how money is thrown at the hottest thing in capitalism. Ethereum is way past that moment. Despite its explosive growth in 2023, Solana still has much more to come in 2024.
Altcoins.
Altcoin season hasn't officially started yet, and I suspect that it will only start after the official approval of the first Spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024, but only after the initial fiat currency inflows towards the ETF are fully allocated. Then the money will pour into Ethereum while Solana will just continue to run, and then altcoins will have their day in the sun. Among the altcoins, I predict that the most potential will be found among Solana Gems. To find those gems, it is best to start gathering knowledge about projects now, well in advance of the altcoin bull run. In one of my next articles I will offer some Solana Gem analysis, however, do note that I am not a financial advisor.
