By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - Almost 90% of Bitcoin addresses were profitable as of last week, the highest share since November 2021, according to a report released Tuesday.
"Bitcoin has had a fantastic year. Despite challenging economic conditions, the price of the world's most expensive cryptocurrency surged by almost 160% year-over-year, surprising many investors who claimed the crypto market was dead," said data analysis platform, AltIndex.
"Moreover, Bitcoin's price rally has pushed the number of addresses in profit high above the levels seen last year," it added.
Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, started 2023 just above $16,000, but continued rising to $45,000 at the beginning of December to close last year around $43,000 -- a massive 160% increase year-on-year.
While 55% of BTC addresses were profitable in December 2022, that percentage surged to 87.5% in December 2023, data from AltIndex showed.
"Besides a massive 40% increase in profitable addresses, the BTC network has also seen a growing number of investors searching for a bigger investment chunk," it said in the report.
More than 1 million people hold 1 BTC in their wallets, 20% more than a year ago, according to the platform.
The price of Bitcoin climbed above $45,000 Tuesday for the first time since April 2022. It was trading at around $45,170 at 1.49 p.m. EDT -- a daily gain of 4.8%.
The total value of the cryptocurrency market was up 3% to $1.73 trillion at the time, while Bitcoin's share of the crypto market, known as dominance, was at 51.2%, according to data from the digital asset price-tracking website, CoinMarketCap.
The recent rally in the crypto market is the result of optimism that spot Bitcoin ETFs would get regulatory approval in the US in 2024 and hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon end its monetary policy tightening and begin cutting interest rates in the middle of the year.