Bitcoin (BTC -2.28%) hit a major milestone in 2024. The long-awaited approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the Securities and Exchange Commission was a seminal moment as it legitimized Bitcoin in the eyes of investment firms on Wall Street and regulators in Washington.
This top crypto may now be on a clear path to becoming a mainstream financial asset. Does this mean it's too late to buy Bitcoin?
Unbelievable returns
Without a doubt, this is one of the best performing assets in recent memory. About a decade ago, on Feb. 13, 2014, Bitcoin was trading at a price around $601. This means that as of this writing, it has climbed over 7,900% in 10 years.
Other popular assets don't hold a candle to Bitcoin. The price of an ounce of gold is up just 59% in the last decade. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 326% during the same period, including dividends. Even Tesla stock, which increased by 1,380% in value, hasn't outperformed Bitcoin.
Despite this incredible performance, Bitcoin is currently 29% below its peak price (as of Feb. 11).
Near-term catalysts
The approval of spot ETFs provided somewhat of a stamp of approval for Bitcoin. The perception of this being a "Wild West" asset might be a thing of the past. That's because well-known asset managers, like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Wisdomtree, among others, have already attracted billions in capital inflows from investors.
But from a financial perspective, this could be a game changer for Bitcoin. The ETFs provide a simple and cheap way to gain exposure to the price of this cryptocurrency. Investors don't need to figure out how to custody the asset. The result could be a huge amount of capital finding its way to Bitcoin, which can help drive up the price.
Another catalyst is the upcoming halving. About every four years, the Bitcoin rewards that miners receive for approving transactions get cut in half, thus reducing the new supply of coins that hit the market. Historically, this has been an extremely bullish event.
The halving is set to occur sometime in April. The last time it happened was in May 2020. In the following 18 months, Bitcoin's price skyrocketed 661% to reach its all-time high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021. Perhaps a similar trend could play out this time around.
Financial hedge
Looking out further than the next couple of years, Bitcoin may be a smart long-term investment because it can be viewed as a hedge against the current financial system. The cryptocurrency is a fully decentralized monetary network that isn't controlled by a central authority. This makes it a fantastic digital store of value.
Bitcoin's structure makes it a competitor to the Federal Reserve. The U.S. central bank is constantly adjusting interest rates and money supply to alter the state of the economy. But it's on an unsustainable path, given the country's debt balance sits at a whopping $34 trillion today.
As an asset completely outside the realm of the traditional financial system, Bitcoin could be perceived as an insurance policy should an adverse event happen, such as the collapse of the U.S. dollar. In fact, the world's top currency has lost more than 95% of its purchasing power since the Fed was created in 1913. There's no reason to believe this won't continue indefinitely.
Given that Bitcoin's current market cap of $948 billion is still extremely tiny in the grand scheme of things, particularly when compared to total global wealth, as well as the market value of other major asset classes, there's still a huge runway for this top cryptocurrency to continue seeing price appreciation. As a result, it's certainly not too late to buy Bitcoin. If you're looking to add it to your portfolio, however, plan to hold it for the long term.
