Crypto Global

Bitcoin breaks $60,000 mark

Mar 1, 2024

After more than two years it has finally happened: Bitcoin has broken through the $60,000 mark.

The last time the cryptocurrency reached this level was in November 2021. At the time of writing, the price is at $60,380 and the market capitalization is almost $1.17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to maintain its place among the ten most valuable assets in the world and is now just under 15 percent away from its old all-time high of around $69,000.

The recent rally is primarily driven by institutional investors, with Bitcoin ETFs recently approved in the US playing an important role. Institutional trading is the main driver of this rally, while retail has remained cautious so far. The ETFs are seeing record trading volumes, causing asset managers to accumulate significant amounts of Bitcoin. Companies like BlackRock and Fidelity hold nearly $11 billion in their ETFs alone, while Grayscale remains the leader even as GBTC's sell-off continues.

Asset managers are reportedly accumulating ten times more BTC than miners can produce, which, coupled with the upcoming halving, signals a potential demand shock. During halving, the rewards that miners receive for their computing activity are halved every four years. Historically, this has led to large price gains.

The latest price development is encouraging industry experts to make new forecasts. Some see prices between $100,000 and $250,000 as quite possible by the end of the year.