Bitcoin Holds Gains Amid Halving Anticipation and ETF Optimism

According to Decrypt, Bitcoin maintained most of its gains from Thanksgiving week, with the upcoming halving event and optimism surrounding the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF keeping the cryptocurrency near highs not seen in over a year. The world's top cryptocurrency is currently at $36,940, a slight 3.27% drop from Friday when it surpassed $38,000 for the first time since May 2022. Bitcoin's value appears to be accumulating in anticipation of multiple events in the new year. In April, the cryptocurrency is set to undergo its latest halving, reducing the amount of BTC available to be claimed through mining by 50%. This event is expected to decrease market supply and increase the coin's price. Other indicators in the past week have pointed to Bitcoin's network health improving ahead of April's halving, with the network's hash rate hitting 491 exahashes per second. This increased hash rate is likely due to miners using new, more efficient machines in anticipation of the halving. Additionally, persistent rumors of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) potentially approving a spot Bitcoin ETF have contributed to Bitcoin's recent price gains. Although the SEC has delayed decisions on several Bitcoin ETFs, there are indications that financial giant BlackRock may be on track to list the product soon. Market enthusiasm about the prospect of a Bitcoin ETF is at an all-time high, with even slight indicators of good news on the subject continuing to push BTC higher in recent weeks.