Bitcoin is once again making headlines as it surges toward its all-time high of $69,000. The crypto, known for its volatile nature, is rapidly approaching this milestone, leaving investors and experts alike anticipating further gains.
With BTC currently only a few thousand dollars away from its peak reached during the 2021 crypto bull market, experts are optimistic about its future trajectory, foreseeing a potential climb to $200,000.
This bullish sentiment is fueled by various factors, including increased adoption, institutional interest, and macroeconomic trends, all contributing to BTC’s upward momentum.
Bitcoin trades up to 6 figures
The recent surge in Bitcoin has brought it within striking distance of its all-time high, but some analysts contend that this is only the start. As per CoinGecko, the most widely used cryptocurrency recorded a peak of $63,100 prior to a marginal decline on Friday afternoon.
As of this writing, the current value of BTC is $61,912.36. This represents a 0.1% decrease compared to the last hour and a 0.1% increase compared to yesterday. As of today, Bitcoin has gained 21.3% in value when compared to its value seven days ago.
The current valuation of cryptocurrencies on a global scale is $2.45 trillion, representing a change of 2.22% over the last twenty-four hours and 117.74% over the past year. The current valuation of BTC stands at $1.22 Trillion, indicating a market share of 49.79% for Bitcoin. Stablecoins, meanwhile, have a market cap of $143 billion, or 5.87% of the total crypto market cap.
A few thousand dollars separate BTC at present from its all-time high of $69,044 attained during the height of the crypto bull market in 2021. Scholars anticipate this resurgence could eventually propel Bitcoin’s price above the coveted six-figure threshold.
Advancing financial institutions’ endorsement of ETFs, including BlackRock and Fidelity, has contributed to the influx of investors into the crypto. He added that the ease with which retail investors can purchase Bitcoin, and individuals can add BTC exposure to their retirement accounts has been facilitated by exchange-traded products. This has helped to persuade some skeptics.
Despite new investors allocating a modest portion of their holdings to the cryptocurrency, as suggested in a Fidelity research note, 2%-4% is sufficient. The cumulative investment represents billions of dollars. This is already evident in the influx of capital into the most prominent Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The largest of the exchange-traded funds (ETFs), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by BlackRock, surpassed $10 billion in assets under management on Friday, following a single-day inflow of a record $612 million.
As of now, the inflows of BTC amounting to $7.7 billion for the year have surpassed all inflows since 2021, when the coin attained its peak value, according to the Flow Show team at Bank of America Global Research. This group is under the leadership of investment strategist Michael Hartnett.
A further factor contributing to BTC’s recent ascent is the forthcoming “halving,” which, scheduled to take place in April, will reduce the rate at which Bitcoins are introduced into circulation by halving the crypto reward given to miners who successfully issue Bitcoins on the blockchain.
Bitcoin set for 10 months of face-melting FOMO
According to popular price analyst PlanB, BTC is about to go on a massive parabolic bull run that will last the rest of the year.
In a Friday X post, the pseudonymous BTC bull published a graph tracking BTC’s “market cycle,” stating that the price had now exited the “accumulation phase […] No more easy buying opportunities in orderly and slowly increasing markets,” he stated.
“If history is any guide, we will see ~10 months of face-melting FOMO: extreme price pumps combined with multiple -30% drops,” he went on to say.
PlanB became one of the most popular online analysts during the 2021 Bitcoin bull market after accurately predicting multiple of Bitcoin’s monthly closing prices.
He also popularized the Bitcoin “stock to flow model,” which predicts the asset’s future price based on increasing scarcity, with an estimated Bitcoin price of $532,000 as early as 2026.
When Bitcoin’s price fell below $20,000 in 2022, PlanB’s model was heavily criticized for being overly optimistic. However, now that BTC has returned to more than $60,000 a coin, PlanB insists that his model is intact.
“Bitcoin February closing price: $61,181 … back to S2F model value,” wrote PlanB to X on Thursday.
