After smashing through the $28,000 mark on Sunday, Bitcoin (BTC) hit the year’s high of $28,503 on Monday morning before a slight correction to $28,375 at the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko.
The latest price action means the leading cryptocurrency is up 4% in the day, and as much as 28.4% over the last week, making it one of the best performers in the market.
Bitcoin last changed hands at these levels in June last year amid the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the contagion starting to spread across the crypto industry to claim the scalps of several key players, such as Celsius Network and Three Arrows Capital, among others.
The latest rally also means that the price of Bitcoin surged about 70% since the start of the year.
Bitcoin’s impressive performance is a stark contrast to major bank stocks that have continued to plummet following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month.
There was additional pressure on the global banking sector following Sunday’s announcement that Swiss banking giant UBS agreed to buy its crisis-hit rival Credit Suisse in an emergency deal worth over $3 billion.
As the banking sector continues to roil, this time Credit Suisse, crypto enthusiasts are already taking victory laps on Twitter.
“The macro backdrop for Bitcoin has never been more perfect,” wrote co-founder of Mechanism Capital Andrew Kang.
Others, alluding to the inscription enshrined in the network’s first block, echoed the sentiment, saying “Bitcoin was made for this.”
The macro backdrop for $BTC has never been more perfect
- Fed must reduce aggressiveness in rate hikes with economy slowin...
Several largest central banks, including the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank, also came together on Sunday to announce “coordinated action” to enhance liquidity in their standing U.S. dollar swap arrangements.
The goal is to ease access to U.S. dollar liquidity in times of crisis. Still, Credit Suisse's stock plunged nearly 60% in morning trade Monday, while UBS was down 7%.
New price targets for Bitcoin
Amid the banking chaos, Bitcoin has soared, prompting enthusiasts to once again promote the leading cryptocurrency as a “safe haven."
Commenting on the collapse of SVB and the Signature Bank, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest said last week that “this debacle would not have been possible in the decentralized, transparent, auditable, and over-collateralized crypto asset ecosystem."
“Indeed, during the last week, crypt assets behaved like safe havens: along with gold, their prices appreciated,” she said.
This debacle would not have been possible in the decentralized, transparent, auditable, and over-collateralized crypto asset ecosystem. Indeed, during the last week, crypt assets behaved like safe havens: along with gold, their prices appreciated.
Matrixport head of research Markus Thielen has meanwhile said that the firm is reassessing its price targets for the leading cryptocurrency.
“We are adjusting our near-term price target as our previous target of 28,000 has been reached. The new Bitcoin price target is 36,000 by summer 2023,” Thielen wrote in the latest note.
Thielen added that the $45,000 target by the end of the year “looks quite plausible now.”
The Matrixport researcher also noted that while both Bitcoin and Ethereum are trading above the 50-day moving average, which is “bullish,” Ethereum underperforms Bitcoin with the ETH-to-BTC ratio going down.
“Crypto is driven by beta factors, and there is a macro liquidity story developing that has been historically very powerful for Bitcoin,” said Thielen.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has dropped some over the day, but still soared 13% on the week, changing hands just below $1,800 by press time.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
eToro has launched the roadshow for its U.S. IPO, with the Israel-based trading platform targeting a valuation as high as $4 billion.
The company also touted its legitimacy in the crypto industry.
"From its earliest days, eToro has been a pioneer in the crypto space," eToro CEO Yoni Assia wrote in the filing. "This has in part been driven by my own early adoption of and personal belief in bitcoin and the transformative potential of blockchain technology."
An updated F-1 registration form clarifi...
A Solana token pumped 2,115% in three hours to a market cap of $104.93 million amid speculation that the founder of crypto AI agent Zerebro died by suicide, due to a published obituary, and had promoted a token from beyond the grave.
But, the obituary was later removed due to a lack of information provided to local media. The local coroner's office told Decrypt that nobody with the founder's surname had recently passed in the area.
On Sunday, users on X reported watching a now-deleted video of J...
Bitcoin isn't the only cryptocurrency likely to surge. BNB is on track for a 360% rise, according to Standard Chartered.
The utility token, which runs on its own blockchain, has been trading in line with Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to the bank's Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick.
And this is likely to continue, despite the asset having little utility, Kendrick added in a Tuesday note.
"BNB has traded almost exactly in line with an unweighted basket of Bitcoin and...
