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Bitcoin Price Today Is Down 4%, BTC Trades At $104,262

Bitcoin price today trades at No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago on No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago after hitting a daily high of No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago today after a No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago% move on December 18. Will BTC continue its ascent to set up new highs? Will profit-taking tirgger a correction?

Bitcoin Price Today: Why is BTC up?

Bitcoin price today is down No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago%  and trades at No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago. The reason behind the recent drop could be investors taking a break ahead of the FOMC meeting. This key macroeconomic event will play a pivotal role in determining the bias for the next part of the bull run. A dovish outlook from the Fed could resume the uptrend, on the other hand, hawkish comments could trigger a crash for BTC and the rest of the crypto markets.

*bitcoin price updated as of No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago.
Value of BTC trades at No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago, bringing the year-to-date gain from 56% on October 20 to roughly 148% as of December 18. The YTD performance has slumped due to the recent BTC crash. Although many altcoins have shot up over triple digits, Bitcoin is catching up. Ethereum price’s YTD performance is lackluster, stands around 73%, and is well below BTC.

Although Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin’s popularity is due to its first-mover advantage and its being a secure, decentralized network. In addition, many narratives, like digital gold, inflation hedges, and uncorrelated assets, have kept BTC at the forefront of the crypto market since its inception in 2009.

Can BTC Price To End 2024 on Bullish Note?

Industry veterans’ speculation of a bull run post-US elections was right, and Bitcoin is likely to end 2024 on a positive note. Many even expect this six-digit target for BTC to sustained without crashes in 2025. This bullishness can be attributed to the historical returns, whihc shows that Bitcoin has always performed massively in the fourth and first quarters .

Historical Bitcoin Price Performance

With that said, Bitcoin’s market capitalization, which stands at No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago, could finally hit the $2 trillion mark.

Bitcoin’s Market Capitalization

While Bitcoin’s market cap hovers around No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago, with Ethereum, the duo controls nearly 65% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. Despite the seven-month consolidation, Bitcoin’s $1.93 trillion market cap remains strong, anticipating it reaching $2 trillion before 2025.

BTC: A composition of 24-hour Trading Volume

Being the top crypto has its benefits; more people tend to flock toward the asset. Likewise, BTC’s 24-hour trading volume stands at No data found for bitcoin on 6 seconds ago. Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, contributes a major portion of this volume. Binance’s share of BTC’s 24-hour trading volume comprises spot and perpetuals trading. While spot volume hovers around 11%, perpetual volume is 41%. Exchanges like OKX, Bitget, etc, follow Binance.

Notable Bitcoin Blockchain Upgrades

With a market cap of $1.93 trillion, it is necessary for the network to remain secure, decentralized, and scalable. This is possible by upgrading the Bitcoin network regularly.

Here are some notable upgrades the Bitcoin network has received or planned to receive since its inception in 2009.

Key Bitcoin Blockchain Upgrades Since 2009

Here are some key milestone upgrades to the Bitcoin network over the past decade.

2020-2024:

  • Taproot Upgrade (2021): Improved Bitcoin’s smart contract functionality, allowing for more complex transactions and enhanced privacy.Muir Glacier Upgrade (2020): Delayed the “ice age” that would have slowed down the network, ensuring the continued smooth operation of Bitcoin.

2017-2019:

  • Segregated Witness (SegWit) Upgrade (2017): Increased the block size limit, allowing for more transactions to be processed on the network, and improved the overall scalability of Bitcoin.
  • Schnorr/Tapscript Upgrade (proposed): Aims to further improve the efficiency and scalability of Bitcoin transactions, but has not yet been activated.
  • SegWit2x (canceled): A proposed upgrade that aimed to increase the block size limit, but was ultimately canceled due to lack of consensus.

2015-2016:

  • Bitcoin Core 0.12.0 Upgrade (2016): Introduced several improvements, including better wallet management and enhanced security features.
  • BIP66 Upgrade (2015): Standardized the way Bitcoin transactions are verified, improving the overall security and reliability of the network.

2013-2014:

  • Bitcoin Core 0.9.0 Upgrade (2014): Introduced a new wallet format and improved the overall performance of the Bitcoin client.
  • BIP0016 Upgrade (2013): Enabled the use of payment protocol, allowing for more efficient and secure transactions.

2010-2012:

  • Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) Upgrade (2012): Introduced a new type of transaction that allows for more complex payment scenarios, improving the overall flexibility of the Bitcoin network.
  • Bitcoin Core 0.6.0 Upgrade (2011): Introduced several improvements, including better wallet management and enhanced security features.

2009-2010:

  • Bitcoin Core 0.3.0 Upgrade (2009): One of the earliest upgrades to the Bitcoin network, introducing several key features and improvements.

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