Bitcoin (BTC) exceeded the $65,000 threshold, nearing its all-time peak of $69,000 in November 2021, as the value of bullish positions reached a historic high. At the time of writing, BTC was priced at $65,113.30 at 7:04 am Monday, 4 March 2024, ET. The leading cryptocurrency witnessed a 6% increase over the past 24 hours, while the CD20, a comprehensive index encompassing various tokens, recorded a 5.6% rise. Bitcoin now stands a mere 5% away from its record in U.S. dollars, having already surpassed peak valuations against major and emerging-market currencies in the preceding week, achieving a new high in euro terms today.
Indications from the futures market suggest the possibility of further gains. Open interest, representing unsettled futures bets, reached an unprecedented $27 billion, according to Coinglass data. This surge in interest signals the influx of new capital into the market. Concurrently, market capitalization reached a record $2.8 trillion, surpassing the November 2021 level of $2.7 trillion, as reported by multiple sources.
Over the last 24 hours, more than $60 million in shorts, or bets against higher bitcoin prices, were liquidated, potentially contributing to the surge in prices as losing positions were covered. Coinglass data also highlights the unprecedented surge in Bitcoin open interest.
A combination of euphoric sentiment, institutional buying demand, and historical gains related to Bitcoin’s halving event positions the asset to surpass its all-time high of $69,000 in March.
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have also witnessed substantial gains, but the meme coin Pepe has outperformed other larger-cap altcoins with a significant daily surge.
The recent surge in Bitcoin echoes a similar trend observed the previous Monday, starting from around $51,000 and reaching $64,000, marking its highest value since late 2021. Despite a brief retracement during the week, Bitcoin closed February with its most substantial monthly gain in history. The subsequent days, including the weekend, saw a relative stabilization of BTC around $62,000.
Monday brought a renewed bullish sentiment, propelling Bitcoin to a new multi-year high of over $65,000, approaching its 2021 all-time high of $69,000. Presently, the asset hovers just above that threshold, with a market cap nearing $1.3 trillion and a dominance over altcoins exceeding 50% on CoinGecko.
In recent days, meme coins have dominated the market, with Pepe leading the way with a remarkable 65% surge. BONK followed suit with a 50% increase, reaching a price of $0.000035. Notably, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, the prominent representatives of this category, have gained 25% and 30%, respectively, bringing SHIB closer to potentially surpassing DOGE as the largest meme coin.
Cardano and Polkadot have also recorded significant gains, ranging from 8-10% overnight. While the broader larger-cap altcoin market is green, the gains are more modest.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap experienced an overnight increase of over $100 billion, reaching $2.550 trillion on CoinMarketCap.
