TekTok: Bitcoin Soars to $50K

For the first time in over two years, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, soared to the $50,000 mark on Monday. This significant achievement was fueled by the anticipation of interest rate cuts later this year and the recent regulatory approval for U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track its price. So far this year, the cryptocurrency has seen a 16.3% increase.

As of Monday, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also saw a rise of 4.12%, reaching $2,607.57. The market is closely watching seven pending applications for ETFs tied to Ether’s spot price, which are currently under review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the next Bitcoin “halving,” which analysts predict will occur in April. This process is designed to slow down the release of Bitcoin, which has a supply limit of 21 million tokens. To date, 19 million tokens have already been created. Bitcoin experienced rallies following the previous three halvings, the most recent of which occurred in 2020. 2024 could cotinue to be an exciting year for cryptocurrency, and hopefully, for cryptocurrency philanthropy as well. Universities received some significant cryptocurrency gifts during the last bull run. 

If a donor has expressed an interest in donating cryptocurrency to UVA, please see our cryptocurrency donation toolkit on the Hub.