Bitcoin has risen by about 20% in the last week, thanks to increased interest in its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the imminent halving. So far in 2024, the top cryptocurrency by market capitalization has increased by around 40%. The token presently dominates the crypto market, accounting for 53% of total value, according to CoinMarketCap.
"The positive effects of the ETF launch, institutional investment, which saw a rise in 2023, and the upcoming halving, which is set to affect the demand-supply ratio in favor of Bitcoin's price, have all started adding to the market momentum," stated Rajagopal Menon, vice president at WazirX.
"This surge is attributed to the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US registering a new daily record by surpassing the $7.7 billion trading volume as retail investors jump on the crypto rally," said Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex.
He stated that BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF traded $3.3 billion on Wednesday, which was twice the previous volume record. READ: Bitcoin soars 39.7% in February, on track for largest monthly increase since December 2020.
On Wednesday, these variables culminated in a crazy session, with Bitcoin rising as much as 13% to $63,968 before falling to little over $61,000. The rush in traffic caused trading outages and displayed $0 balances for Coinbase users, the largest US digital asset exchange.
Later that day, Coinbase declared that the issue had been rectified.
"Very few clients may still have an incorrect balance on their accounts. "Our team is working to resolve this display issue for these users," the company stated in a statement on social networking site X.
The anticipation of Bitcoin's halving has also caused a jump in token values.
Halving is set for April and will lower the number of Bitcoins available for trading, resulting in a price increase.
Some experts anticipate that the optimism will lead to Bitcoin reaching an all-time high of about $69,000 before halving. On Wednesday, these variables culminated in a crazy session, with Bitcoin rising as much as 13%.
