Bitcoin nears its 2021 all-time high, surpassing $67,000

At the beginning of the week, Bitcoin surged, moving nearer to its all-time high following a pause in the rally over the weekend.

According to Coin Metrics, the flagship cryptocurrency has surged by 7.65% to $67,608.30, reaching as high as $67,977.77, its peak since November 2021. Ether also saw a rise of 3.41%, trading close to its January 2022 highs at $3,588.83.

Following their strongest week in nearly a year, with bitcoin gaining approximately 21% and ether 16%, both coins paused their ascent over the weekend. This pause came as the market absorbed two days of significant outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which were balanced by inflows into other newly established bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

“With the introduction of these nine new ETFs, significant market movements are now occurring primarily during regular trading hours rather than on weekends,” explained Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of the crypto exchange Nexo.

“Today’s developments may echo those of last week, when bitcoin surged by $10,000 within a couple of days,” he continued. “We find ourselves in a similar environment where a day or two of sideways consolidation could precede explosive price movements, driven by the strong demand from these newly introduced spot ETFs.”

Bitcoin, currently valued at $67,000, stands approximately 3% below its intraday high of $68,982.20.

The surge in Bitcoin has had a ripple effect on other cryptocurrency tokens, particularly meme coins. Dogecoin saw a 14% increase, while Shiba Inu coin skyrocketed by 45%. Analysts interpret this as a sign that retail investors, who had been largely absent during the recent crypto rally, are re-entering the market. Trade volumes for meme tokens last week hit their highest levels since late 2021, according to data from crypto provider Kaiko.

Some crypto-related stocks, like Coinbase and Microstrategy, rode the Bitcoin wave, with gains of 11% and 24% respectively. However, miners refrained from participating in the rally, as the impending halving in April, which will reduce mining companies’ revenue, dampened investor sentiment. CleanSpark and Cipher Mining both saw drops of over 7%, while Iris Energy and Marathon Digital each dipped nearly 5% and Riot Platforms slid nearly 7%.

Certain analysts have suggested that while Bitcoin may continue to rise in the short term, it could experience a cooling-off period in the next few weeks as unrealized profit margins reach extreme levels. Currently, Bitcoin’s realized price sits at approximately $42,700, as reported by CryptoQuant.

Nevertheless, long-term investors remain confident that a combination of increased demand for Bitcoin through new U.S. ETFs and anticipated supply tightening after the April halving event will propel Bitcoin’s price to new all-time highs.

The crypto market has also received support from the stock market, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reaching an all-time high last Friday, becoming the last of the major stock indexes to achieve a record close this year.

David Duong, head of institutional research at Coinbase, anticipates that March could be a month of sideways movement for Bitcoin, but believes the cryptocurrency is benefiting from a productivity boom driven by AI and blockchain technology that he expects to persist.

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