After surging 5% over the past day, Bitcoin (BTC) is now up is quickly approaching the coveted $60,000 mark. This comes as investor interest in the world’s largest cryptocurrency has reached levels last seen during a 2021 boom, putting it very close to its all-time high.
Rally before the halving? Bitcoin is approaching $60,000
The price increase coincided with a surge in demand as spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reached cumulative trading volumes of more than $3 billion on Tuesday. Additionally, other traders cited the expected bitcoin halving in April as the source of a new narrative setting off a pre-halving rally.
The market capitalization of the world’s most sought-after digital assets has now reached $1.2 trillion, data from Coingecko shows.
Bitcoin fast approaching the $60K level. Source: Coingecko
Joel Kruger, a market strategist at LMAX Group, stated that the market is “so much more determined to see the level retested and shattered” now that Bitcoin is that much closer to retesting its all-time high.
Mainly due to the euphoria surrounding a number of bitcoin exchange-traded funds that started trading in January, bitcoin is up as much as 16% this week and 35% so far this year.
Bitcoin market cap currently at $1.16 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com
Bitcoin reached its highest level since November 2021 when it surpassed $59,000. The purpose of the current increase is to see if the price can rise to $68,790, an all-time high. That peak occurred six months before the stunning crash in 2022.
According to Coin glass dataSince the Asian morning hours, futures bets on lower bitcoin prices have seen $25 million in liquidations, which could have contributed to the price surge.
‘Extreme Greed’ for BTC
Meanwhile, the Fear and Greed Index – a sentiment indicator that measures how quickly asset moves deviate from underlying fundamentals – flashed 82 on Wednesday, indicating “extreme greed” and reaches the highest level in more than a year.
Source: Alernative.me
A scale of 0 to 100 represents the most fearful and 100 the most greedy on the index. According to the index’s creators, a hungry environment signals exuberance and shows that the market is due for a correction.
Since the ETFs began trading on January 11, Bitcoin has risen 24%. The current upward trend in prices is just the beginning, according to Bitwise Asset Management analyst Ryan Rasmussen.
“The demand that ETFs generate for the spot bitcoin market is significantly greater than the daily production of fresh supply,” he stated.
Ultimately, Rasmussen stated:
“What we are seeing is cryptocurrency rising from the ashes of the 2022 market.”
The volume of bitcoin transactions executed so far this quarter has exceeded the totals for each quarter of 2023 for the same period. Major cryptocurrency trading platforms such as Coinbase Global (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) have benefited greatly from this activity. Between the beginning of January and now, these stocks have risen 27% and 31% respectively.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
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