Bitcoin is on the verge of reaching its all-time high, as the world's largest cryptocurrency surged past $65,000 for the first time since 2021 on Monday, signaling a remarkable comeback for the digital currency.
Currently, Bitcoin is approximately 2% away from its peak of nearly $69,000, achieved during a brief spike in 2021. This recent rally seems within reach, considering Bitcoin's volatile nature has seen it surge by over 50% in just the past month.
The latest surge is largely fueled by the continued optimism surrounding spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were launched earlier this year. These ETFs now hold nearly $50 billion in assets under management and own around 4% of all bitcoins, as reported by Bernstein data.
Additionally, optimism regarding an upcoming "halving" event, which historically drives Bitcoin prices higher by reducing miner incentives and slowing supply growth, coupled with a broader uptick in equity prices, has further boosted Bitcoin's value.
Bitcoin's total market capitalization reached $1.29 trillion on Monday, according to CoinGecko, a stark contrast to its $320 billion market cap at the end of 2022 during the crypto winter.
Despite Bitcoin's flirtation with a record valuation, the total market capitalization of the crypto market sits at $2.55 trillion, well below the peak of over $3 trillion seen in late 2021. This discrepancy is partly due to Bitcoin's increased dominance in the market, rising from below 40% to around 50% over the last two years, amidst the decline in value of other prominent digital assets.
The crypto market has witnessed significant fluctuations, with FTX's crypto token, once valued at nearly $10 billion, now essentially worthless following FTX's bankruptcy. Binance's coin has also declined by more than 40% from its November 2021 level due to significant legal issues. Similarly, Dogecoin, propelled by figures like Elon Musk, has seen a 40% decrease from its market cap peak of almost $40 billion in November 2021.
The emergence of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs in January, managed by legacy asset managers like BlackRock and crypto-first firms like Grayscale, has provided investors with a cost-effective and easily accessible avenue to invest in Bitcoin.
Last week, BlackRock's fund became the fastest ETF to reach $10 billion in assets under management. Publicly-traded stocks closely associated with Bitcoin, such as crypto exchange Coinbase, leading miner Marathon Digital, and investor MicroStrategy, have outperformed the broader market this year, reaching multiyear highs.
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