For the first time since May 2022, Bitcoin crossed the $40,000 threshold, signaling the largest digital asset’s comeback.

In April 2022, Bitcoin fell below $40,000, signaling the start of a turbulent time for the cryptocurrency industry.

Since then, the industry has faced numerous difficulties, from projects and coins failing to bankruptcies and court cases. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, one of the biggest exchanges in the world at the time, faces over 100 years in prison after being found guilty on seven counts of criminal fraud.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, resigned from his position and acknowledged to criminal charges at the same time as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice.

Remarkably, the most well-known cryptocurrency in the world saw a rally of more than 100% in 2023, which encouraged many to believe that the upward trend would continue until 2024. The increase can be primarily ascribed to hope for lower interest rates and the potential authorization of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US.

At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading at $2,214, showing a similar percentage increase over the previous day. Throughout the same period, the BNB coin—which is linked to the Binance exchange—saw a minor decline of roughly 0.1%, whereas the majority of other cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market capitalization saw only moderate increases.

A number of audacious forecasts regarding Bitcoin in 2024 have already surfaced. Specifically, Standard Chartered restated a price prediction last week, predicting that Bitcoin will hit $100,000 by the end of 2024. The bank credits the approval of several Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) for this predicted spike.

It is anticipated that Bitcoin will experience a halving in late April of 2024. This will be the fourth Bitcoin halving event in history, with the block reward falling from 6.25 BTC per block to just 3.125 BTC.

Historically, there has been a tendency for the price of Bitcoin to rise sharply in the year before and after a halving event.