Experts from the consulting firm Glassnode report that the sharp rise in Bitcoin in December was driven by speculative operations related to the anticipation of the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the upcoming BTC halving in 2024. They also note that short-term investors took profits, leading to a halt in the upward movement and a subsequent drop in value by $3,377 (-7.57%) from the annual high of $44,600.

The increase in the price of the top-cap cryptocurrency in December lacked strong fundamental foundations and was entirely driven by speculative sentiment. Analysts refer to blockchain-based pricing models, which suggest that the estimated "fair value" of Bitcoin falls within the range of $30,000 to $36,000.

As of the evening of December 13th, the market value of Bitcoin stands at approximately $41,350. Over the last 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin has decreased by 1.5%, and on a weekly chart, it has fallen by 6.3%.

Earlier, Zach Pandl, Director of Research at Grayscale Investments, expressed the opinion that the recovery of the cryptocurrency market in 2023 could only occur if the U.S. economy manages to curb investor inflation expectations.