Three Factors That Could Drive the Next Crypto Bull Run

HodlX Guest Post  Submit Your Post

Every event requires a catalyst – a spark that will precipitate the explosion that comes next. It’s been that way since the Big Bang, and crypto is no different.

When Bitcoin enters full bull season again, the breakout will occur overnight, and yet the seeds that triggered it will have been planted long ago.

A plethora of macro and micro forces will dictate the timing, ferocity and duration of the next bull run – that giddy phase when a market enters ‘up only’ mode and assets good and bad post-double-digit gains just for fun.

We don’t know the day or hour when crypto will break bullish. But we know that it’s coming, as sure as night follows day.

And when it does occur, odds are that the following factors will play a pivotal part in crypto’s stellar story.

The ETF

The first driver of Bitcoin’s ascent – and where BTC leads the rest of the market inevitably follows – is the approval of an ETF (exchange-traded fund).

Institutions have been trying to get one over the line for years, but the SEC has always said no, citing the potential for market manipulation.

But now BlackRock’s decided it wants one, and what the investment giant wants, it invariably gets.

In recent months, CEO Larry Fink has begun saying nice things about Bitcoin while its ETF application grinds its way through the torturous approval process.

Meanwhile, other players have gotten in on the act, filing and refiling their own initiatives.

The general consensus is that an ETF will be approved sooner rather than later, and that when it occurs, it will be a major driver of greater price discovery for BTC and other crypto assets.

The approval of a Bitcoin ETF means that pension funds can get direct exposure to crypto for the first time.

It also validates crypto as an asset class, opening the door to additional ETFs, with Ethereum (ETH) the likeliest coin to be green-lighted next.

As for when the mythical Bitcoin ETF is likely to occur, odds are one will be approved within H2 or by Q1 of 2024 at the very latest.

The halvening

If crypto still hasn’t kicked into high gear by Q1 of next year, don’t despair – the next potential driver will be imminent.

Next May, Bitcoin will undergo its four-yearly halving schedule – or ‘halvening‘ as it’s commonly known. This is when the block reward issued to miners reduces by half.

At present, 6.25 BTC are issued approximately every 10 minutes. From May, this reward will diminish…