Bitcoin’s price surged past $51,800 in the European morning hours on Wednesday, marking the cryptocurrency’s first reach to a $1 trillion market capitalization since December 2021.
This milestone comes amid a wave of optimism in the crypto market, with options traders even speculating prices could soar to $75,000 in the next few months. In the shirt terms, and as interest in Bitcoin ETFs picks up, some traders are setting their sights on the $64,000 mark for Bitcoin in the first quarter. This Tuesday, BlackRock’s IBIT ETF experienced a significant boost, pulling in nearly $500 million in net inflows, a clear sign of growing investor interest.
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The bullish price movement led to the liquidation of over $130 million in cryptocurrency short positions across centralized exchanges within the last 24 hours. The volatility saw a dramatic increase, especially with bitcoin’s price spike, resulting in the elimination of nearly $93 million in positions, predominantly shorts.
Since February’s start, bitcoin has seen a 21% appreciation, with its market dominance at 50%, overshadowing ether’s 16.3%. The growing interest in spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) products, particularly with BlackRock’s IBIT experiencing nearly $500 million in net inflows on Tuesday, suggests a robust buying demand.
As the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization soared above $2 trillion again, a level last seen in April 2022, bitcoin’s price rose nearly 3% over 24 hours, trading at $51,521 as of early Wednesday.
This resurgence in the crypto market contrasts with the recent downturn in U.S. equities. Following the U.S. Labor Department’s inflation report for January, which showed a higher-than-expected increase, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 experienced declines.
The inflation data has adjusted market expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, with a significant likelihood of maintaining current rates in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
