Published
2 months ago on
February 21, 2024
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The recent flurry of spot bitcoin ETF approvals has caused a groundswell of optimism in the wider cryptocurrency market, which briefly surpassed the momentous $2 trillion market cap milestone last week.
Naturally, a range of blockchain projects and digital tokens have risen in value as a consequence of Bitcoin’s success, with the feel-good factor spreading outward. A rising tide lifts all boats, after all. That being said, bitcoin’s upward trajectory is no guarantee that all digital currencies will follow suit – in the short term or the long.
One token that has certainly accumulated momentum of late is BGB, the native currency of trading platform Bitget. Home to over 20 million users in 100 countries, Bitget launched its ERC-20 token in July 2021 and it’s been on a rather steady climb since last January. Indeed, it recently crossed $1 for the first time, at one stage hitting an all-time high of $1.15 on February 17 before falling slightly.
Bitget Token Reflects Growing Market Confidence
At the time of writing, the BGB token is still above a dollar, trading at $1.02, an increase of almost 55% in the last seven days. The rise over the past month is even more pronounced, with 70% gains.
When market sentiment brightens, exchange tokens are often the biggest winners as trading activity spikes and users reap the benefits of interacting with a trading platform’s native asset. BGB is a perfect case in point and demonstrates the market’s growing confidence, as well as its potential for further growth. What is notable about BGB, though, is the steadiness of its ascent with no volatile spikes.
Irrespective of what the wider market is doing – and post-ETF the focus is now shifting to Bitcoin’s fourth Halving event in April – Bitget has committed to strengthening the value proposition of BGB and aligning the token with the overall growth of the exchange. A big part of this will be furnishing holders with benefits when they stake.
At present, staking BGB delivers an annual return of 2%, on top of daily free withdrawal limits that help users evade the rocketing transaction fees that are a corollary of bullish market phases. Moreover, the token grants users exclusive access to projects launching on the Bitget Innovation Zone, giving token-holders an opportunity to get in on the ground floor as promising ventures lift off.
Although the gains pocketed by BGB over the past month are impressive, it’s only February – and with VC funding rising for the first time in 18 months and retail investors re-entering the market, many analysts believe the stage is set for the next crypto bull run. As Alyssa Choo, crypto equities specialist at Bitwise, observes: “Everyone wants to be a part of the bull market.”
In light of this reality, and providing the market continues tracking positively as the Halving looms into focus, and even beyond, there is a bullish case to be made for the continued growth of BGB. Not least since the token appears undervalued compared to counterparts such as OKX’s native currency, OKB.
The market cap of BGB at the time of writing is $1.43 billion, compared to $14.8bn for OKX. Yet this disparity is not borne out by the platforms’ respective trading volume, as Bitget handles approximately 70% of OKX’s volume. Moreover, Bitget’s derivative trading volume grew by an incredible 28% in the first month of the year.
What Next?
Needless to say, it is extremely difficult to estimate just how much upside there is in BGB – or indeed any token. While most experts are confident bitcoin will have a banner year, and that should mean strong gains for many exchange tokens, there is no guarantee.
Certainly, native tokens belonging to exchanges which are growing in other areas – particularly trade volume – have stronger fundamentals behind them than highly speculative tokens not tied to tangible products, i.e. hit-and-hope memecoins.
Price aside, Bitget’s profile has been growing over the past year, thanks in no small part to its World Cup-winning brand ambassador (and possibly history’s greatest ever footballer) Lionel Messi. Unlike many competitor exchanges, it also offers a raft of ancillary products and services including an NFT Marketplace and dApp browser.
Unsurprisingly though, it’s the BGB token that’s been hogging most of the recent limelight. Investors will do well to keep a close eye on the asset in the coming months.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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