Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin jumps over 4.9% overnight to reach new highs 
  • US employment report on deck for Friday

Planet of the BTC

Bitcoin extended its rally Monday morning, racing past $42,000 and reaching highs unseen since April 2022. The 5% pump over the last 24 hours built on to the 153% increase for the coin since the beginning of the year. The red-hot flames were fanned by optimism surrounding a spot BTC exchange-traded fund, on top of the anticipation of a more expensive coin in the wake of the upcoming BTC halving. 

With 13 spot Bitcoin ETF’s awaiting approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), analysts are expecting to see most, if not all, of the funds approved on Jan. 10, 2024. Recently, representatives from investment giants BlackRock and Grayscale met with the SEC to iron out the details of their proposed ETFs, prompting further excitement among investors. 

Should any exchange-traded funds be approved as hoped in early 2024, it would mean easier access to the digital asset through more conventional methods such as brokerage accounts, in turn making it more attractive to investors who previously wouldn’t touch crypto with a 10-foot pole due to its decentralized finance (DeFi) status. 

 Putting things into perspective for those unfamiliar with ETFs, analyst Willy Woo highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) the impact of the first commodity ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust. Its accessibility sparked an eight-year rally for gold, “with no single down year between 2005 – 2012”. 

Further propelling the token, the looming Bitcoin halving, expected to take place in May 2024, has crypto execs hopeful for the coin to reach $100k by the end of the new year. The halving, which takes place every four years, was written into Bitcoin’s policy at the point of inception in an effort to counteract inflation by maintaining a level of scarcity to the coin.

Jobs Again

Stateside, market participants are eagerly awaiting November’s nonfarm jobs data, scheduled for release on Friday. Job creation decelerated in October, with only 150,000 jobs out of a forecasted 190,000 made, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

For November, analysts are forecasting nonfarm numbers of 190,000 again, a seemingly optimistic prediction potentially influenced by the approaching holidays and increased demand for seasonal Should the numbers come in lower than expected, it might take some of the heat off the Federal Reserve’s hawkish approach to tackling inflation, showing the economy is cooling down in the winter frost. 

The US unemployment data follows in hot pursuit of the nonfarm report. While unemployment rates currently stand at 3.9%, the highest since January 2022, analysts are expecting the data to stay flat with little to no change in November. 

For our traders, it would be of great benefit to you to closely monitor any BTC ETF developments, as even the anticipation alone seems to be uplifting the coin in its tailwinds. As for the halving, it may be worth your time to delve into the historical patterns of previous halving events. Regardless, it remains vital for our traders to conduct their own research and complete their technical analysis before diving headfirst into any additions to their portfolio.