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.
Top college football prospect Matai Tagoa’i is set to join football stars like Russell Okung, Odell Beckham Jr., and Trevor Lawrence by receiving his compensation in Bitcoin.
The linebacker will be paid part of his earnings via the Strike app after signing a “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) deal with the University of Southern California (USC).
The exact details of his package are not known, but some college football players, such as Shedeur Sanders, have received estimated payouts of up to $4....
The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock just debuted a new advertisement proselytizing the virtues of Bitcoin, but rather than cheer on the Bitcoin ETF issuer for its efforts, Bitcoiners aren’t happy.
The video, which is housed on the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF page on BlackRock’s website, spends three minutes walking viewers through the evolution of money and key fundamentals of Bitcoin.
One of those fundamentals is Bitcoin’s 21 million fixed token supply.
While the video explains t...
El Salvador may have reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund that will see the tiny country scale back its Bitcoin law—but it’s still going to “HODL.” And it might even step up its BTC buys.
That’s according to Stacy Herbert, the head of El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office, who wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) Thursday that the country may even continue buying the cryptocurrency at an “accelerated pace” going forward.
El Salvador in 2021 made Bitcoin legal tender along with...
