08 July 2024
Bitcoin in 2024: Issues, Risks and Policy Implications
Executive Summary
Bitcoin has been extremely volatile since the beginning of 2024. As the world’s most famous cryptocurrency turns 15, it is important to look beyond the wax and wane in prices and focus on the underlying factors driving it. Bitcoin may be digital, but what happens to it has policy implications for the real world. Specifically, bitcoin ownership is broadening, thanks to three important catalysts – a less hawkish US Federal Reserve, the April 2024 halving event and the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. However, as more people and institutions gain exposure to the cryptocurrency, the risks also increase significantly. For policymakers, seeing what these risks are not gets them to think about the world’s largest cryptocurrency but also prepares them to deal with what may come next.
Executive Summary
Bitcoin has been extremely volatile since the beginning of 2024. As the world’s most famous cryptocurrency turns 15, it is important to look beyond the wax and wane in prices and focus on the underlying factors driving it. Bitcoin may be digital, but what happens to it has policy implications for the real world. Specifically, bitcoin ownership is broadening, thanks to three important catalysts – a less hawkish US Federal Reserve, the April 2024 halving event and the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. However, as more people and institutions gain exposure to the cryptocurrency, the risks also increase significantly. For policymakers, seeing what these risks are not gets them to think about the world’s largest cryptocurrency but also prepares them to deal with what may come next.
