The year 2024 will belong to the history books in the cryptocurrency industry and, in particular, for Bitcoin. After starting the year with the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it did not take long before the first cryptocurrency to ride on the back of the new capital of the institution reached its peak.
This has been the case for Bitcoin over the past 12 months, as the market leader has enjoyed increased attention from institutional players and large corporations. Blockchain analytics company CryptoQuant recently published a report highlighting the impact of major investors on the world’s largest cryptocurrencies this year.
Is 2024 The Best Year In Terms Of Bitcoin Institutional Acquisition?
In its latest weekly report, blockchain intelligence platform CryptoQuant argued that 2024 has been a defining year for institutional adoption of Bitcoin – driven by the launch of existing ETFs in January. By the end of the year, BTC funds already had more coins (over 1.1 million) than any organization (including the anonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto).
ETFs have provided a way for institutional and retail investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly owning it. At the same time, exchange-traded funds have helped spread stable cash flows to the leading cryptocurrency over the past 11 months.
According to data from CryptoQuant, BTC has seen a dramatic increase in its capitalization, rising from $430 billion to a record high of $730 billion so far in 2024. One of the biggest contributors to this growth rate is MicroStrategy, the largest business owner of all time. of Bitcoin so far this year.
Source: CryptoQuant
Data from CryptoQuant reveals that MicroStrategy has tried to strengthen its position as the largest holder of corporate BTC by gradually filling its wallets throughout the year. The business intelligence company started the year with 189,000 BTC in holdings, which has now increased by 112% to 402,000 coins.
In addition, on-chain data shows that major Bitcoin investors have increased their holdings by a total of 275,000 coins so far in 2024 reaching a record high of 16.4 million BTC. These statistics highlight the growing demand of the institution and the growing influence of crypto and Bitcoin in traditional finance, especially in the last year.
Bitcoin price overview
As a result of growing institutional acceptance, the price of BTC has seen strong growth in 2024, recently reaching a six-figure rate. As of this writing, the startup’s cryptocurrency is worth just over $100,000, representing an increase of nearly 5% in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, BTC is still the largest cryptocurrency in the digital assets sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.99 trillion.
The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT on the TradingView
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView
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