Bitcoin tops $60,000 and approaches all-time high

 Bitcoin tops $60,000 and approaches all-time high

This Wednesday, bitcoin was trading at around $60,301, narrowing the gap with its all-time high of $68,991, reached in November 2021

Bitcoin passed the $60,000 mark on Wednesday, closing in on its all-time high, continuing its unbridled ascent since the approval of a new type of investment indexed to the cryptocurrency. In the early afternoon of Wednesday in London, bitcoin was trading at around $60,301, closing the gap on its all-time high of $68,991, reached in November 2021.

Anticipation of the authorization of a new investment product tracking bitcoin's price had contributed in recent months to a recovery in prices, which had largely fallen back by the end of 2022, following the bankruptcy of several giants in the sector.

"A new wave of optimism"

Since its approval on January 10 by the US market regulator, the SEC, this new type of investment, a bitcoin-indexed index fund (ETF), theoretically enables a wider public to invest in these cryptocurrencies without having to hold any directly.

Some investors eager to recoup their bets had initially triggered a wave of mass withdrawals from the GBTC (Grayscale Bitcoin Trust) fund, once it had been converted into an ETF. But once the selling fever subsided, flows into US bitcoin ETFs, such as that of asset management giant BlackRock, increased.

Investment products linked to listed cryptoassets have attracted around $5.7 billion (approximately €5.15 billion) since the start of the year, according to calculations by asset manager CoinShares published on Monday.

"The price of bitcoin has risen by more than 600%"

Bitcoin is created - or "mined" - as a reward when powerful computers solve complex problems. But the quantity of bitcoins is limited, and every four years or so, the reward given to "miners" who extract it is halved. The next halving should slow the speed at which new bitcoins enter the market, thus boosting its value.

Since the last halving in May 2020, "the price of bitcoin has risen by over 600%", notes eToro analyst Simon Peters, and although the percentage rise decreases between each cycle, "it's very possible that the price peak is somewhere in the six figures".