Bitcoin’s price surged above $54,000 on Monday, waking from a week of subdued trading. The leading cryptocurrency was up by 5% at $54,460.00, according to Coin Metrics. At its peak in the session, bitcoin reached $54,965.26, its highest level since December 2021.
Analyst at Bitwise Asset Management, Ryan Rasmussen, attributed this price increase to the settlement day for bitcoin futures. He also noted the upcoming ‘bitcoin halving’ in the second half of April, a time when traders often position themselves favorably.
This boost from Bitcoin had a positive ripple effect, lifting most of the crypto market. Ether saw a rise of over 2% to trade at $3,173.87. Solana increased by over 5%, Cardano’s ADA token advanced by around 4%, and Polygon’s MATIC token jumped by 8%.
Crypto-related stocks also saw a surge. Coinbase and Microstrategy both leapt 16%, and the largest cryptocurrency miners, Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital, witnessed increases of 15% and 20% respectively.
Last week, cryptocurrency had traded evenly, till the breakout on Monday, setting it on course for a 27% monthly gain. Owen Lau, an analyst at Oppenheimer, noted that Bitcoin had been lingering around $52,000 for the past two weeks, awaiting a breakout opportunity. He cited improvements in crypto regulation and increased retail participation as the primary factors.
In a separate note, JPMorgan’s Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou indicated that after a hiatus in January, retail interest in crypto resurged in February, largely driving the upward price action. He also identified three key catalysts that explain the renewed retail interest: the bitcoin halving, Ethereum’s next tech upgrade (which JPMorgan considers already priced in), and the potential approval of spot ether ETFs.
