Bitcoin (BTC) crossed the $6,000 mark in European morning hours on Monday, inching closer to its lifetime peak of $69,000 set in November 2021 as the value of bullish bets rose to a record.
The largest cryptocurrency is now just 2.5% away from its 2021 high in U.S. dollar terms, having already reached records in other currencies.
Bitcoin (BTC) crossed the $65,000 mark in European morning hours on Monday, inching closer to its lifetime peak of $69,000 set in November 2021 as the value of bullish bets rose to a record. Now at around €61,000, bitcoin has added the euro to the many local currencies in which it’s already moved to a record high.
The largest cryptocurrency has added over 6% in the past 24 hours, while the broad CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the biggest cryptocurrencies, rose 5.6%. Bitcoin is now just 5% away from its record in terms of U.S. dollars.
Further gains may be in the offing, signs from the futures market indicate. Open interest, or the number of unsettled futures bets, rose to an all-time high of $27 billion, data from Coinglass show. Rising interest is a sign of new money entering the market. Market capitalization also reached a record $2.8 trillion, crossing the $2.7 trillion level set in November 2021, data from multiple sources show.
Bitcoin surges to $67,000, market cap crosses $2.5 trillion
Bitcoin has seen a remarkable 50% increase in value throughout this year, with a significant portion of this growth occurring in recent weeks. This surge coincides with heightened inflows into US-listed Bitcoin funds.
Since the inception of US Bitcoin ETFs, significant net inflows totaling $7.35 billion have been invested by prominent fund names such as BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments.
Despite substantial outflows of nearly $9 billion from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust following the listing of ETFs, traders remain unfazed. On Friday, there were net outflows of approximately $140 million, with GBTC experiencing around $490 million being withdrawn from the fund.
“With nine ETFs and a far greater access than any of the previous bull runs, Bitcoin is scaling heights which were previously unprecedented. The number of Bitcoin produced is 900 daily, and just last Wednesday ETFs consumed about 10000 of them, indicating a huge demand. Thus there is better liquidity in the market. However, ever since the ETF anticipation started building, the market was confident in its ability to fuel BTC prices,” said Rajagopal Menon, VP, WazirX.
Menon further added, “The Bitcoin halving is a month away and it will reduce the supply of new Bitcoins to 656,250. Investors are trying to make the best of the situation and the market optimism is at its peak. Once BTC crossed its all time high last week, it indicated a massive rally. However, we should be wary of sideways movements and corrections which is a normal part of the cycle.”
Other cryptos also rising
Amid Bitcoin’s surge, smaller-cap tokens, often referred to as meme coins, also experienced notable gains. Dogecoin saw an increase of nearly 20%, while Shiba Inu surged by 34% over the past 24 hours.
The second largest crypto token Ethereum surged 3.6% to $ 3,54. Other tokens known as altcoins, including Cardano and Solana, also were up Monday 6.8% and 3.3% respectively.
“This is a situation reminiscent of the 2021 bull run, with retail traders looking to make quick profits from rising prices in very volatile tokens,” Caroline Mauron, co-founder of digital-asset derivatives liquidity provider Orbit Markets,