The price of bitcoin surged above $59,000 on Wednesday, hitting levels not seen since late 2021 as a bull run continued for the leading cryptocurrency.
BitcoinBTCUSD,
rose 3.7% to $59,142, just off the session high of $59,482. The cryptocurrency is about 14.5% away from the record of $68,990 reached 27 months ago.
Up 40% so far this year, bitcoin has been fueled by continued inflows into bitcoin exchange-traded funds and hopes for the next “halving event,” which is expected to occur in April. Past cryptocurrency halvings have coincided with bull runs.
The cryptocurrency’s rise has once again strengthened stocks related to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. COIN,
up more than 6% in premarket trading and MicroStrategy Inc. MSTR,
one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin holders, up 8%.
Light: MicroStrategy shares were considered a “buy”, with Bitcoin’s halving as a budding catalyst
Cryptocurrency Miners Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. MARA Stocks,
and Riot Platforms Inc. RIOT,
they were gaining 8% and 6%, respectively, in premarket trading.
“With whales and other key names accumulating liquidity in BTC ahead of the April halving event, bitcoin prices are likely to continue to rise in the near term,” James Harte of multi-asset broker Tickmill Group said in a Tuesday briefing. known to customers.
“The question is whether the rally will continue after the halving or whether it will be a case of buying the rumor and selling the news? With the dwindling supply of bitcoin and recent ETF approvals fueling an increase in demand, there is a strong case for the rally to continue this year with some commentators calling for the $100,000 mark by the end of the year,” Harte said.
As CoinDesk previously reported, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index moved into extreme greed territory from simple greed on Tuesday: