Bitcoin is the best investment in 2024, but comes with its usual volatility | Wilnesh News

Bitcoin is undoubtedly the best-performing asset class in 2024, as new ETFs usher in wider adoption and hopes of deregulation under the new presidential administration lift the digital asset to record levels.

But owning cryptocurrencies also comes with its usual unpredictability and dizzying volatility, as this month’s trading clearly shows. Bitcoin Its price has more than doubled in the $40,000 range since the start of the year, and was last trading near $95,500. ether It’s up nearly 50% year to date and last traded around $3,400.

The most prosperous time of the year occurs in the weeks following the U.S. presidential election. By mid-December, the cryptocurrency surged above $108,000 for the first time on optimism that President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris would open the door to greater regulatory transparency doors and bring new capital into the industry.

Since then, however, prices have dropped. Bitcoin has gone negative this month amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates more slowly than expected. The market faced a significant series of profit-taking and volatility into the end of the year.

The launch of new ETFs holding cryptocurrencies in January provided a major confidence boost. The funds, promoted by asset managers as an easier way for investors to acquire Bitcoin, have absorbed tens of billions of dollars in cash this year. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) currently has over $50 billion in assets.

Ethereum ETFs also joined the excitement in July. Demand for these funds has not been as strong as its Bitcoin counterparts, but the category has still attracted more than $2 billion in net inflows in less than six months, according to FactSet data.

Strong momentum from cryptocurrencies has also pushed related stocks to record levels. Bitcoin proxy micro strategy has soared 388% since the beginning of the year, while Coin library and Robin Hood Increases of approximately 47% and 200% respectively. MicroStrategy’s stock has been soaring since mid-December as it was added to the Nasdaq 100 Index.

However, some mining stocks have underperformed, Mara Holdings and Anti-riot platform So far this year, the company is expected to post double-digit losses.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pond contributed reporting