The world's top cryptocurrency saw wild swings, but it ultimately fell more than 5% for the whole year. What are Bitcoin's catalysts for 2026? In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved its first spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the halving (which halves mining rewards every 4 years) occurred. Bitcoin is often called "digital gold" because it is mined with powerful custom chips using the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism. Investors shouldn't expect it to skyrocket over the next 12 months, but it should gradually rise as the macro conditions improve, and its spot price ETFs stabilize.