Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
-
Bitcoin resumed its upward rally this week, crossing the $100k mark
-
It has now set a new all-time high price above $103k while Ether approaches $4k.
BTC Sets a New All-time High Above $103k
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, has continued its post-election rally, adding over 6% to its value in the last 24 hours. Thanks to this rally, Bitcoin has now crossed the $100k psychological mark and set a new all-time high price of $103,900 per coin.
Analysts believe the rally can be attributed to new buyers absorbing the selling pressure of old holders in the market.
On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell commented that Bitcoin would not replace the US dollar but would instead be a competitor to gold. In an email to Cryptowisser, Sergei Gorev, the risk manager at YouHodler, shares the same sentiment. Sergei commented that,
“In the long term, the cryptocurrency market will be much higher. We can compare the capitalization of BTC with the capitalization of gold. The capitalization of all gold today is about $15 trillion. BTC will likely occupy a part of the gold market value and displace it from the pedestal of a safe haven. However, it won't be right away. Gradually. With sometimes deep price corrections further.”
Institutional players like MicroStrategy and BlackRock continue contributing to Bitcoin’s upward movement in recent months. MicroStrategy has stepped up its Bitcoin buying spree despite BTC’s high price.
Earlier this week, the business intelligence firm confirmed acquiring another 15,400 bitcoins for $1.5 billion. The company bought these bitcoins at an average price of $95,976 per bitcoin between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1. MicroStrategy’s total BTC holdings now stand at 402,100 BTC, worth over $40 billion.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, added more than 4% to its value in the last 24 hours and is now approaching the $4k mark. Thanks to Bitcoin and Ether’s rally, the total cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $3.66 trillion.
