Bitcoin breaks $42,000 - FOMO period is about to start

FOMO is the buzzword on both the stock markets and crypto markets this December. Technology shares are on the rise and Bitcoin is back in full swing. We don’t know where it will end this month, but it feels just like December 2017, 2020 or 2021 for that matter. Last night, Bitcoin easily broke through the $40k and this morning through the $41k price point. And now it broke the $42,000, but quickly declined to $41,500 again.

It’s very likely we are on the eve of a #Bitcoin spot ETF.

The first commodity ETF was SPDR Gold Trust. It provided a simple way for investors to access gold in their portfolio. When it launched gold went on to an 8 year rally with no single down year between 2005 - 2012. pic.twitter.com/UjAXlSiccW

— Willy Woo (@woonomic) December 4, 2023

After a 2022 full of crashes, scandals and the classic media blaming crypto for just about everything that went wrong, 2023 feels completely different. Bitcoin easily weathered the (minor) US banking crisis of the spring and rose steadily during the summer.

Verdict

Since the verdict of Sam Bankman-Fried, American investors in particular have turned a page. Crypto criminals have been convicted, so Bitcoin is accessible again, at least that’s what Wall Street seems to think since November.

The prospect that US residents will soon (if a Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF is approved) be able to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum through their normal bankers, just as if they were regular stocks, is clearly sparking a new round of hype in social media crypto circles , and a rise in crypto prices that comes with it.

$42,000

— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) December 4, 2023

While there is broad consensus among analysts on the likelihood of such an ETF approval, the idea that it would be symbolic of the industry’s maturity is contradicted by speculation about what will happen to Bitcoin’s price.

Crypto ‘influencers’ with hundreds of thousands of followers on X hype a price point between $50k and $100k when such an ETF approval happens.

Hype

Twelve applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs are currently awaiting approval from the American stock market watchdog SEC. Spot bitcoin ETFs already exist in Canada, Germany and elsewhere, but none of those markets have the number of investors that America has.

The attention paid to the topic by crypto trading media highlights the current fixation in investment circles. When a well-known social media account on X falsely claimed that a spot Bitcoin ETF had been approved, the price of the largest digital coin rose 10% in one hour.

Hype has always been one of Bitcoin’s core tenets. That hype is once again taking on FOMO forms now that we have started the last month of the year.

I’m a bit more conservative myself, but you never know with hype. I expect something like $45k as the highest price this year, but don’t be surprised if you see $50k on the boards by the end of December.