The leading cryptocurrency rose as much as 14% on Wednesday night to momentarily hit $64,000 (its first move above $60,000 since November 2021) before reversing some of the gains. BTC was trading at $62,540 according to Coingecko data.
In a bright start to March, Bitcoin’s feverish activity set it up for its biggest monthly rise in nearly three years early Thursday morning. Money invested in bitcoin exchange-traded funds is generating huge profits, and bitcoin is now just a stone’s throw away from hitting an all-time high.
There have been several reasons for the strong rise experienced by Bitcoin in recent days. First of all, there is the tailwind of the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US. On Tuesday they recorded cumulative trading volumes of $3 billion.
Another element that is driving the price of the cryptocurrency is the “halving” (the halving of the reward obtained by the “miners” of this cryptocurrency) that will take place in a few weeks. And finally, the increases in recent sessions come from the software company and crypto investor MicroStrategy, which had recently purchased about 3,000 bitcoins for a total of $155 million.
Investor Frenzy as Bitcoin Prepares to Reclaim $64,000
Due to “fear of missing out” on potential price increases, investors are rushing to buy cryptocurrencies, bringing back memories of the cryptocurrency bull market that took the leading cryptocurrency asset to an all-time high of around $69,000 in November 2021.
Since the beginning of the year so far, the value of bitcoin has more than tripled, recovering from a 64% drop in 2022. This is an incredible recovery from a series of scandals and bankruptcies that had called into question the sustainability of digital assets.
Meanwhile, sudden changes in price have been rattling both bulls and bears. According to CoinGlass, centralized exchanges had short liquidations of $176 million and long liquidations of $86.1 million from the previous day.
Crypto on the Rise
After prices crashed during the crypto winter of 2022, investors lost interest in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. However, the approval and introduction of these funds to the US market this year has revived interest in cryptocurrencies.
According to LSEG statistics, the top 10 bitcoin spot ETFs recorded inflows of $420 million on Wednesday alone, the highest amount in almost two weeks. Voltage increased when the three best-known ones, operated by Grayscale, Fidelity and BlackRock (IBIT.O), sparked completely new interest.
Ahead of the April halving event, which occurs every four years and halves the token generation rate as well as the rewards paid to miners, more traders have been flocking to Bitcoin.
Expert Opinion
“Bitcoin optimism is driven by factors such as BTC ETF spot inflows, the impending halving that reduces new issuance, and renewed confidence in the crypto asset class,” according to Jonathon Miller, CEO of Kraken Australia. “When people see these types of increases in a short period of time. . . then it just draws people in and FOMO kicks in,” said Timo Lehes, co-founder of blockchain company Swarm.
“We could see the all-time high being surpassed at any time,” said Simon Peters, an analyst at trading firm eToro. “The driving force behind this is undoubtedly [bitcoin funds].”
A New ATH in March?
As Bitcoin experiences brief but notable fluctuations, reaching $64,000 before retreating to the $62,000 mark, the cryptocurrency market remains dynamic and full of anticipation. Investors and enthusiasts are closely monitoring price movements, speculating on the possibility of a new all-time high (ATH) in March.
By Audy Castaneda
