Bitcoin Pushes Past $60,000, In First Time Since November 2021

The value of bitcoin continues to surge, after the world’s largest cryptocurrency surged past $60,000 on Wednesday.

Indeed, bitcoin at the time of writing on Wednesday afternoon, is sitting at $61.431, having risen 7 percent in the last 24 hours.

According to Coindesk, the week’s rally appears to have been driven by huge inflows into the US-based spot ETFs, with the new funds adding more than another 12,000 bitcoin on Tuesday after adding about 10,000 on Monday.

Bitcoin rise

The rise above $60,000 is the first time bitcoin has been this high since November 2021, and it is approaching its all-time high of $69,000, which it also reached in November 2021.

It has been a remarkable couple of months for the digital currency however.

In early January bitcoin had surged above $45,000 for the first time since April 2022.

That surge came amid speculation that the US securities regulator would soon approve one or more exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds.

Later in January the US SEC officially approved the first US-listed exchange traded funds (ETF) to track bitcoin, in what was labelled a watershed moment for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, as well as the broader crypto industry.

Then during February, bitcoin has experienced a 42 percent price rally, which marks its largest monthly gain since December 2020.

In mid February the flagship cryptocurrency had risen to $51,929.

As of Wednesday 28 February it is sitting at $61.431.

Bitcoin halving

Reuters meanwhile noted that traders have poured into bitcoin ahead of April’s halving event – a process designed to slow the release of the cryptocurrency.

In addition, the prospect of the Federal Reserve delivering a series of rate cuts this year has fed investor appetite for higher-yielding or more volatile assets, Reuters reported.

“Bitcoin is being driven by the support of consistent inflows into the new spot ETFs and outlook for April’s halving event and June’s Fed interest rate cuts,” Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at retail investment platform eToro, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The value of all the bitcoin in circulation has topped $2 trillion this month for the first time in two years.

Meanwhile, the world’s second biggest crypto currency (ether), which underpins the ethereum blockchain network, rose 3.2 percent to $3,353, having hit another two-year high earlier on Wednesday.

Ehter’s price has risen 47 percent in February, the biggest monthly gain since a 70 percent rally in July 2022.