Bitcoin surpasses $60,000, putting it within striking distance of the all-time high

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged past $60,000 on Wednesday, putting it within striking distance of its all-time high as enthusiasm for the world’s largest cryptocurrency reached a frenzy last seen during a boom in 2021.

The digital asset surged as high as $63,900, hitting its highest intraday point since November 2021, before falling back to the $60,000 level amid reports that some users of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (PIECE OF MONEY) started showing a $0 balance on their accounts.

Coinbase said first on its website that “we are aware that some users may see a zero balance in their Coinbase accounts and experience errors when buying or selling”, but that “your assets are safe”.

A second update stated “we are starting to see improvement in customer interactions. Due to the increase in traffic, some customers may still see errors connecting, sending, receiving, and with certain delivery methods.” payment”. A third update offered reassurance that “we are starting to see Coinbase.com activity normalize.”

Its CEO Brian Armstrong also tried to calm customers on Wednesday. In a post on “.

Later in the day, he said “applications are recovering” and wrote that the traffic increase had exceeded what the company had “load tested.”

Before prices pulled back amid the Coinbase snafu, the rally had been closing in on bitcoin’s all-time mark of $68,789. This peak came in November 2021, six months before a spectacular crash in 2022.

“Ultimately what we’re seeing is that crypto is kind of rising from the ashes of the 2022 market,” said Ryan Rasmussen, senior crypto research analyst for Bitwise Asset Management.

Bitcoin is riding a wave of enthusiasm sparked by a series of Bitcoin spot exchange traded funds which began trading in January. These funds gave ordinary investors broad exposure to the digital asset, sparking predictions of a new bull run.

The story continues

“Our hypothesis is that the price of Bitcoin will reach $125,000 by the end of 2025,” Mark Palmer of Benchmark. added to Yahoo Finance Live.

Investors are also bidding higher on other cryptocurrencies and related stocks. Since the beginning of the year, the second largest cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), outperformed bitcoin by more than 4%, while the total market value of all crypto assets increased by about 34% to $2.22 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Trading activity in Bitcoin ETFs launched in January is a sign of the growing enthusiasm for Bitcoin. They recorded more than $6.7 billion in net flows on Wednesday, according to data raised by the Farside Investors fund based in London.

So far this quarter, bitcoin trading volume has exceeded levels seen for the same period in every quarter of 2023.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. (Brendan McDermid/REUTERS) (REUTERS / Reuters)

This activity has been a boon for major crypto trading platforms including Coinbase and Robinhood (HOOD).

But the increase in trading also became a liability for Coinbase on Wednesday, as some of its users began reporting that their account balances were reading $0.

Coinbase stock fell in intraday trading as it provided updates on its efforts to resolve the issue and closed about flat for the day.

Other Bitcoin-related stocks are also rising. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) and bitcoin holder MicroStrategy (MSTR) have increased by 35% and 40% respectively since the start of the year. MicroStrategy announced Monday morning that it had acquired an additional 3,000 BTC, bringing its total investment to 193,000 BTC, valued at over $11.8 billion as of Wednesday.

Derivatives traders are also now jumping in on the Bitcoin rally, according to Christopher Newhouse, an analyst at Cumberland Labs.

There are about $25 billion in open contracts in the bitcoin futures market, according to crypto derivatives data provider Coinglass. This is a new high for outstanding Bitcoin futures bets, surpassing the mark last set in April 2021.

“In the options market, the talk is clear,” Newhouse added. “People are optimistic.”

David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto and other areas of finance.

Click here for the latest crypto news, updates and more regarding ethereum And bitcoin price, crypto ETF and implications on the cryptocurrency market

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Fuente