LUCKNOW (CoinChapter.com) — Bitcoin’s price has reached above the $60k level for the first time since its previous all-time high in November 2021. This surge is fueled by massive investments into cryptocurrency spot ETFs. And the surge pissed our dear delusional friend Peter Schiff off. Look below.
Spot ETF Inflows Drive Bitcoin’s Rally
The rally that started earlier this week appears primarily driven by significant inflows into U.S.-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). These ETFs have added over 22,000 Bitcoins within the first two days of the week.
With Bitcoin price now reaching a $60,000 resistance level, bullish analysts predict the rally could continue towards its previous peak of around $69,000 hit last November 2021. However, some experts warn that a rapid price increase could soon hit selling resistance.
Massive Short Squeeze as Bitcoin Price Rallies
Over the last day, a surge in Bitcoin’s price led to increasing liquidations across cryptocurrency markets. According to data from Coinglass, liquidated positions totaled over $250 million in just 24 hours.
Remarkably, as the crypto market rallied, more than $61 million worth of pessimistic “short” positions were forced to liquidate in a mere four hours. Bitcoin itself saw around $40 million worth of shorts get squeezed out from traders betting against further gains.
The intense upward move also pushed major alternative cryptocurrencies like Ethereum to reach their highest valuations so far this year. The aggressive liquidation of shorts appears to have accelerated momentum behind Bitcoin’s climb past the $59,000 threshold.
Driving further optimism, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy announced additional purchases of 3,000 bitcoins worth $155 million from Feb. 15-25. With its latest buys, MicroStrategy now holds around 193,000 bitcoins acquired at an average price of $31,500.
The move signals sustained institutional interest in using Bitcoin as an inflation-resistant corporate reserve asset.
Bitcoin ETF Trading Volumes Explode to New Highs
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen massive growth, breaking consecutive daily volume records, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment. Trading activity for top Bitcoin ETFs like GBTC and BITO has skyrocketed over the past week.
These staggering volumes are believed to be fueled by fear of missing out (FOMO) amongst retail traders and institutional investors taking profits as Bitcoin taps new 2-year highs.
Total trading volumes across leading Bitcoin ETFs first hit a record $4.52 billion on Feb. 19. Six days later, on the 25th, volumes leapfrogged to over $6 billion. Momentum continued on the 26th, with volumes surging to an unprecedented $7.64 billion in a single day.
This hype has led to surging interest in GBTC, IBIT, FBTC, ARKB, BTCO, BITB, and other major Bitcoin funds. The flood of activity signals growing confidence in Bitcoin as an investable asset class amongst institutional and retail players.
What to Expect Next?
Despite the minor pullback, on-chain data and overall market sentiment remain bullish. At this time, Bitcoin’s price is above $60,662, marking a 6.44% gain over the last 24 hours.
Technical gauges like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) staying elevated and rising moving averages signal upside momentum may persist. If Bitcoin decisively breaks above $60,000, it could trigger an upswing toward its former all-time high of around $68,000.
For bearish traders, time is running out to halt further gains. They need to push the price back below key moving averages quickly to spark a retreat towards $53,000 – a recent breakout level.
If the bulls can maintain prices over the moving averages, momentum is in their favor. While some selling around $60,000 is expected, surpassing that could open the door to further upside.
Alternatively, a reversal of around $53,000 may keep Bitcoin range-bound for some time. A deeper dip below the $50,500 support level risks a decline toward $48,980 in the near term.
The post BREAKING NEWS! Bitcoin Price Hits $60K To Piss Off Peter Schiff appeared first on CoinChapter.
