Bitcoin's record this year has benefited from two catalysts: the approval of a spot ETF in January and the recent halving event. As of last Friday, the world's largest cryptocurrency has risen more than 60% so far this year, down about 6% from its all-time high in March.

While these two drivers are expected to continue to drive Bitcoin's price higher, they are now a thing of the past, and investors are wondering where to look for more room to rise. Analysts say there are many more drivers for Bitcoin's continued rise in price.

The four upcoming catalysts are detailed below:

1. Interest rate cut

Investors are closely watching the prospects for the Fed to cut interest rates and expect the stock market to rise as a result. The same is true of Bitcoin, which is like a speculative asset and tends to rise when borrowing costs are low.

In fact, ultra-low interest rates in 2021 have largely driven Bitcoin's price to a record high. Bitcoin's gains were then reversed when the Federal Reserve began implementing monetary tightening policies.

“Bitcoin's rise in the first quarter was mainly due to large inflows from spot ETFs. So as this benefit is being digested, now you need to focus on what the Federal Reserve can do,” Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz (Mike Novogratz) said earlier this month.

Bitcoin's price is likely to stay in the $55,000-$73,000 range until short-term interest rates fall, he said.

2. Regulatory changes

Currently, the cryptocurrency community is also seeking regulatory consistency, and it has been proven that regulation is often an obstacle to Bitcoin. For example, before the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally approved a spot ETF, Bitcoin plummeted.

But the legal environment surrounding cryptocurrencies appears to be improving. Oppenheimer executive director Owen Lau told CNBC in early May that one of the future Bitcoin catalysts may be the upcoming stablecoin bill, which could be introduced as early as this year.

Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has just passed a broad regulatory framework for the crypto industry, which has been hailed as a victory for the industry. Although its fate in the Senate is unclear, this will provide the coin community with more clear rules.

3. US election

But Novogratz said the real clarity of regulation of the cryptocurrency industry will come after the presidential election. He pointed out that Republican candidate Trump is increasingly vocal in support of the industry, in stark contrast to Biden's policies.

Standard Chartered Bank's Geoff Kendrick (Geoff Kendrick) also said in a May report that Trump's victory would have a broad positive impact on Bitcoin.

He added that growing concerns about US deficit and debt trends could also boost Bitcoin as investors will begin to seek alternative investments. Kendrick said that any candidate becoming president could lead to this situation because they have not proposed a plan for how to address government spending.

4. Bitcoin's functional reshaping

At the same time as people's perception of Bitcoin is changing, the cryptocurrency itself is undergoing some kind of reshaping.

According to Bloomberg, developers have been working hard to add functionality to the Bitcoin network. These efforts are aimed at making cryptocurrencies more than just a speculative asset, and the launch of new features may provide another catalyst for Bitcoin's rise.

For example, the recently released Ordinals protocol allows users not only to store bitcoins on the Bitcoin blockchain, but also to begin trading assets such as non-homogenized tokens. Bitget managing director Gracy Chen (Gracy Chen) wrote on X that as of mid-May, the daily trading volume of the Ordinals market had reached $3.42 million.

Galaxy wrote in a report: “The advent of the 2023 Ordinals Agreement, the BRC-20 token standard created on this basis, and the current Runes token standard all help drive people's interest in seeing Bitcoin as a platform network rather than just a monetary network.” Currently, such projects are attracting a great deal of attention from venture investors, the report said.

Editor/Somer