Bitcoin is making headlines on media outlets worldwide after it soared past $50K for the first time on Feb 16. The top cryptocurrency has gone on to scale new heights above $56,000 after its market cap surpassed $1 trillion in market capitalization on Friday.
This threshold is likely acting as a catalyst for bitcoin to extend gains, and the price seems destined to climb higher unless investors start taking profits.
“In many ways, $1 trillion marks an interesting focal point in which bitcoin goes from a magic internet money meme into a Wall Street, institutionally recognized and investable asset,” noted Andrew Tu, an exec at trading firm Efficient Frontier.
The bulls have now taken hold of the BTC price action, propelling the digital asset to multiple fresh highs for the third straight day.
BTCUSD Chart By TradingView
The BTCUSD pair’s breakneck rally over the past week has seen it increase its year-to-date gains to over 81%. The king coin has added more than $400 billion of value in the past two months alone, offering unparalleled return opportunities to traders.
BTC Blamed for Gold’s Lack of Price Appreciation
In a Feb 20 tweet, celebrity investor Elon musk acknowledged that BTC is on a tear after its price quintupled in just over a year. The Tesla CEO was replying to comments by crypto critic and prominent gold bug Peter Schiff that gold is better than BTC and fiat money.
Indeed, bitcoin’s recent price surge has made it increasingly attractive to investors, prompting them to dump their gold positions and redirect capital into the benchmark cryptocurrency.
Underlying the current rally is the recent decision by MicroStrategy to boost its bitcoin treasuries and the unprecedented amounts of stimulus central banks continue to funnel into the global economy.
Gold outflows from hedge funds into bitcoin have led one well-respected journalist on CNBC to suggest that BTC is to blame for gold prices failing to hit $3k an ounce.
Meanwhile, bitcoin miners are cashing in on the recent BTC run, having raked in a whopping $1.1 billion in combined earnings last month, up 62% from Dec 2020.
Ethereum’s Year-Long Bull Run Continues
As reported by The Daily Chain, Ether established a new lifetime high of $2,033 on Saturday after jumping 6.18% in the last 24 hours. The top altcoin has now extended its market cap to over $227 billion, with its year-to-date gains up 172%.
