Bitcoin broke past the mythical bar of $62,000 on Wednesday for the first time in more than two years after rising by 9.9% over the past 24 hours.
At press time, BTC was trading for $62,308, and the Crypto Fear and Greed index shows the crypto market has delved into the extreme greed phase. The alpha cryptocurrency is up over 20.2% on the weekly chart, 45.7% during the past 30 days, and an eye-popping 155% growth over the last 12 months, according to CoinGecko data.
The last time Bitcoin traded above $62,000 was on Nov. 12, 2021, before BTC plunged into correction mode, erasing 66% of its value to change hands at $19,300 at the start of April 2022.
Bitcoin’s ongoing rally appears to have been driven by a notable increase in institutional interest following the historic launch of U.S.-based spot BTC exchange-traded funds in mid-January. The new nine spot market Bitcoin ETFs registered combined trading volumes of over $2 billion for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. These funds have been a roaring success as investors previously unable to get exposure to Bitcoin in an easy and regulated manner flock to the sector. Collectively, the nine ETFs currently hold over $44 billion in assets.
$100K Possible By Halving?
The Crypto Fear and Greed index, an indicator that measures the overall crypto market investor sentiment on a scale of 1 to 100, recently rose to 82 as Bitcoin rallied. The market is in a state of “extreme greed” for the first time since 2021, highlighting an extremely bullish sentiment among investors as many expect BTC to cross its previous all-time high of $69,000 in the coming days.
Adding fuel to the fire is the much-awaited Bitcoin halving event, which is just 50 days away. Past halvings have led to significant price increases, as the mining rewards are slashed by half, effectively lowering the inflation rate of new Bitcoins entering the market by 50%.
Interestingly, Blockstream CEO Adam Back is confident that the Bitcoin price will hit the $100,000 mark before the pivotal halving event. He cited catalysts such as the liquidation of leveraged shorts, the shift in investor sentiment, and the rocketing buying pressure from ETFs triggering an explosive bull run for Bitcoin.