BTC-USD broke above $60,000 on Wednesday, putting it within striking distance of its all-time high as fervor for the world's largest cryptocurrency reached a 2021 boom-like level.
The digital asset reached $63,900, its highest intraday level since November 2021, before falling back to $60,000 after news that some Coinbase (COIN) customers had $0 balances.
Coinbase initially said on its website that "we are aware that some users may see a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts and may experience errors in buying or selling" but that "your assets are safe."
Customer trading is improving, according to a second update. Some clients may still have login, transmit, receive, and payment method issues due to increasing traffic." The third update said "we are starting to see Coinbase.com activity normalizing."
On Wednesday, CEO Brian Armstrong sought to soothe consumers. He said on X, previously Twitter, that "We apologize for any inconveniences caused by a large traffic increase. Team is remediating."
Prices were approaching bitcoin's all-time high of $68,789 before the Coinbase meltdown. That peak occurred in November 2021, six months before a massive catastrophe in 2022. "Ultimately, what we're seeing is crypto is kind of rising from the ashes of the 2022 market," said Bitwise Asset Management senior crypto research analyst Ryan Rasmussen
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds that began trading in January are boosting bitcoin's popularity. The funds exposed average investors to the digital asset, prompting forecasts of a fresh bull run. Investors are also purchasing up other cryptocurrencies and equities. According to CoinMarketCap, the second-largest cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), has surpassed bitcoin by more than 4% this year, while the entire market value of all crypto assets is up 34% to $2.22 trillion.
Trading in the January bitcoin ETFs shows rising interest for bitcoin. London-based firm Farside Investors reported more than $6.7 billion in net flows as of Wednesday. Bitcoin trading volume has exceeded all 2023 quarters so far this quarter. Crypto trading platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood have benefited from this activity. The increase of trading also hurt Coinbase Wednesday when several customers reported $0.
The price dipped intraday as Coinbase offered updates on its resolution attempts and finished flat for the day. Other bitcoin-related stocks are rising. Marathon Digital (MARA) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) have climbed 35% and 40% since January. Monday morning, MicroStrategy announced the purchase of 3,000 BTC, raising its total investment to 193,000 BTC, worth roughly $11.8 billion as of Wednesday.
Cumberland Labs analyst Christopher Newhouse says derivatives traders are joining the bitcoin surge. Coinglass estimates $25 billion in bitcoin futures contracts. That broke the April 2021 record for outstanding bitcoin futures bets.
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