Bitcoin price nears $62k, surpassing its February high

Bitcoin set a new all-time high above $61k after several unsuccessful bullish attempts

Bitcoin notched a record high price of $61,800 yesterday after a series of gains in the last week, totalling almost $15k. The leading crypto asset has been quiet for the most part since the end of February, with a few drops and consolidation stints. Before Sunday, the flagship cryptocurrency had on many occasions attempted to break its February all-time high but fallen short each time, at one point even tumbling to a low of $43,000.

Things were different this time after a wild spike that saw the crypto eclipse its previous high of $58,400. The leap started on Saturday when Bitcoin managed to break above $60,000 for the first time, setting a new high in the process. The crypto asset continued with its upward momentum crossing $61,000 and moving higher to a new all-time high of around $61,800 on the Bitstamp exchange.

The jump means that Bitcoin’s price has increased by over $18,000 in just two weeks. The crypto coin has since pulled back and retraced to $58,090.30 as of writing.

Following the weekend price upsurge, Bitcoin’s market capital consequently skyrocketed to $1.14 trillion.

The development comes on the back of a $1.9 trillion stimulus program recently signed off by US president Joe Biden after being approved by the House of Representatives. Under the program, every US citizen receives a COVID relief fund of $1,400 to help assuage the pandemic’s ravages.

Some analysts attribute the latest Bitcoin rally to this stimulus package, while others believe the surge was triggered by something more than the program. What remains true in the eyes of many is that Bitcoin has managed to stay afloat during the pandemic.

An interesting observation is that Bitcoin rallied despite the US Treasury yields going up following the signing of the stimulus package. The current resilience is in stark contrast to what happened last time yields were rising at the end of last month. At the time, Bitcoin’s price nosedived by around 20%.

Glassnode co-founder Rafael Schultze-Kraft pointed out via Twitter that the meteoric jump to over $61,000 has resulted in many traders opting to take the liquidation approach. Schultze-Kraft revealed that more than $100 million in short positions was liquidated within a few moments of Bitcoin recording a new high.