Plus: what’s next ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ Four big reasons crypto has heated up Hi there, As most of you already know, crypto started strong in 2024. The entire industry surged following the U.S. launch of bitcoin ETFs in January. Bitcoin hit all time highs, and many coins — including ethereum, solana, and a memecoin based on a cute dog wearing a hat — rallied. Is the bull market back? Nobody can say for sure. But here are four big trends to be aware of. 1. Bitcoin ETFs were an immediate success In the first two weeks of 2024, 11 bitcoin ETFs launched in the U.S. One of them reportedly became the fastest ETF to hit USD $10 billion in assets under management, hitting that number in only seven weeks. (The previous record, held by gold, was two years.) Bitcoin ETFs now hold about USD $60 billion in total assets. That’s roughly 4.5% of all BTC in circulation. And not all platforms have given their clients access to the new ETFs, so there could be even more demand out there. All of that momentum led to BTC breaking its previous all-time high of USD $69K on March 5 and topping USD $73K just a week later. 2. The next BTC halving is expected April 19 Halvings are bitcoin’s most anticipated events: once every four years, the reward issued to bitcoin miners for processing transactions is cut in half. This is intended to limit inflation and slow down the introduction of new bitcoin. (Once we hit 21 million BTC, that's it. No more will be produced.) The next halving is expected to occur this month, at which point miners’ reward will fall from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. Historically, halvings have been followed by price increases (see below), although there is no clear explanation for why. With a bull market already in third gear, investors will be watching to see if this year’s halving provides an additional boost. 3. Ethereum got a major upgrade Ethereum underwent another successful network upgrade, dubbed Dencun — the most significant upgrade since “the merge” converted the network from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in 2022. Dencun included nine major upgrades. The most important, EIP-4844, introduces a new transaction type called blobs. Blobs create what’s basically an HOV lane for bundled ethereum transactions and lead to significantly lower costs. For example, transaction fees on major layer 2 networks (separate systems built on top of Ethereum to speed things up) like Optimism dropped by more than 90% — to less than $0.01 — thanks to blobs. 4. Memecoins are memeing again A lot of memecoins — especially dog-themed ones like $WIF, $DOGE, $SHIB, and $BONK — have surged in the bull market, fueled by renewed interest from retail investors. While many started out as a joke, some have gathered serious momentum and now boast multibillion-dollar market caps. The recent success seems due, in part at least, to the proliferation of low-fee blockchains and the intersection of culture and finance. The potential for pure speculation doesn’t hurt either. What’s next? The crypto market has historically run in spurts of hot and cold. Although it’s impossible to predict what’s next, the current hot streak could be poised to continue, thanks to a few upcoming developments. One big one is ETH ETFs, which could be approved as early as May — and could see success similar to BTC ETFs. There are also several interesting new projects launching. One, called Eigenlayer, enables restaking, or using staked ETH to secure other networks or applications. Another, Bittensor, promises to bring all the different AI models together to form a “digital hive mind.” And Parallel is creating a blockchain version of games like Magic: The Gathering. That’s just a few examples of hundreds of projects that are developing and launching this year. The more successful they are, the more attention and funds they’ll bring to the crypto market. And the more they’ll fuel the recent fire. Best regards, Danish Ajmeri Head of Crypto Cut your crypto trading fees in half When you become a Wealthsimple Premium client, we’ll drop your trading fees from 2% to 1%. For Generation clients, we’ll make it 0.5%. Learn more Thoughts on today’s email? Yes, useful Could be better Not for me Wealthsimple, 80 Spadina Ave Suite 400 Toronto, ON, M5V 2J4 Refer a Friend Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Replies to this email address are not monitored. Have questions? Visit our Help Centre or submit a request to our Client Support team. All information and commentary provided is for illustration purposes only and is not investment advice or recommendations. All investments involve risk. 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