Bitcoin maintained a position near US$50,000 after briefly surpassing this significant level for the first time in over two years—a striking resurgence from the past crypto controversies and setbacks that had raised doubts about the industry’s sustainability.
The largest digital asset surged to as high as $50,328 on Monday in the United States and was trading at $49,980 as of 7:40 am on Tuesday in Singapore. Its value has tripled since the beginning of last year following a 64% decline in 2022. Despite this, Bitcoin remains below its all-time high of nearly $69,000 achieved in November 2021.
The drastic price fluctuations observed since Bitcoin’s inception over a decade ago have consistently captivated speculators. Although initially promoted as an alternative to the conventional financial system, the recent rally has been spurred by optimism arising from the US approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds last month, signaling increased mainstream acceptance.
“There is a lot of talk about inflow of money into this asset,” remarked Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “I’d also note that the momentum players are getting excited as well.”
Reinvigorated risk appetite, driven by expectations of more relaxed monetary policies, has amplified the attractiveness of riskier assets, including digital currencies. “The appetite for risk has trickled over into digital assets as well,” stated Chris Newhouse, a DeFi analyst at Cumberland Labs.
Shares of cryptocurrency-related companies experienced gains on Monday, with Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy Inc surging by 11%, trading platform Coinbase Global Inc increasing by 3.8%, and miner Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. jumping by 14.2%. This positive sentiment could also extend to Asian stocks related to digital assets.
Bitcoin has successfully recuperated all losses since the May 2022 collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD, which triggered a series of failures ultimately contributing to the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange in November 2022. Despite experiencing setbacks, the recent movement in crypto prices reflects a diminished prospect of looming risks to the industry.
The introduction of nine US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on January 11 and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s conversion into an ETF on the same day have significantly contributed to widening the investor base for the cryptocurrency. Moreover, optimism regarding the upcoming quadrennial Bitcoin halving scheduled for April is permeating throughout the crypto space. This halving event is often seen as a factor that historically supports prices.
In addition to ETF inflows, observers note that enthusiasm for Bitcoin tends to be “typically positive” during the ongoing Lunar New Year holidays in Asia, according to Fundstrat Global Advisors.
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