by Cynthia Ezirim 
The crypto market cap could expand to $5 trillion this year due to the effects of the halving, demand from the spot Bitcoin ETFs, and favorable regulatory momentum.
Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of blockchain solutions provider Ripple Labs, believes the crypto market will double in size by the end of the year.
Speaking to CNBC in an interview, Garlinghouse predicted that the crypto market cap could expand to $5 trillion this year due to the effects of the upcoming Bitcoin halving, demand from the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) market, and positive regulatory momentum in the United States.
Crypto Market Cap to $5T in 2024
The Bitcoin halving, a historically bullish event that would slash block rewards by half, is scheduled to take place in the next 12 days. The event is a mechanism that helps BTC combat inflation, thus increasing its value over time.
The first wave of spot Bitcoin ETFs was launched in the U.S. in January, opening doors for traditional finance investors to tap into the potential of the Bitcoin network. Within the past three months, these funds have accumulated thousands of bitcoins worth billions of dollars at a demand rate more than double the supply rate of miners and other market participants.
Analysts believe demand from the ETFs drove BTC past its former all-time high of $69,000 to $73,700 in March. Although BTC experienced downturns in the past weeks, demand for the ETFs is expected to persist long-term, propelling the digital asset northwards.
“I think the macro trends, the big picture things like the ETFs, they’re driving for the first time real institutional money. You’re seeing that drives demand, and at the same time demand is increasing, supply is decreasing. That doesn’t take an economics major to tell you what happens when supply contracts and demand expands,” Garlinghouse said.
A Positive Regulatory Regime
Furthermore, the Ripple CEO sees the possibility of favorable crypto regulation in the U.S. by the end of the year. With 2024 being an election year, he is optimistic that the next administration will not follow the steps of the current one, which is known for its hostility toward crypto.
At the time of writing, the crypto market cap was $2.69 trillion, with BTC accounting for a lion’s share of roughly 49%. A double market size by the end of 2024, driven by these macro factors, would see the figure sit at $5.2 trillion.
