For the first time in history, Bitcoin surpassed $70,000 amid market volatility on Friday, setting a new record.
According to Coin Metrics, the digital currency last increased by around 2% to $69,304.84 but it once escalated to as high as $70,170.00, beating the previous high from Tuesday.
Bitcoin is projected to conclude the week with a 10% increase.
The rise began when the U.S. stock market started trading. The newly introduced spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. appear to be influencing significant shifts in cryptocurrency during traditional stock trading hours.
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Investors assessing the February jobs report may have contributed to the early rise, with expectations that the higher unemployment rate and less robust employment growth from December and January could prompt the Federal Reserve to start reducing interest rates later this year.
However, the week has seen particular volatility in cryptocurrency trading. Bitcoin hit a new all-time high on Tuesday – the first in over two years – before promptly dropping by as much as 10%.
This also negatively affected other cryptocurrencies and crypto stocks, although many of these losses were recouped the following day.
The Bitcoin historical volatility index is at its highest in nearly a year, TradingView reports.
Co-founder of crypto exchange Nexo, Antoni Trenchev, advises caution when approaching previous highs, stating, “The Bitcoin dam doesn’t tend to burst at the first time of asking.”
He described Tuesday’s sharp Bitcoin sell-off as “healthy, necessary, and a prelude to further gains,” adding that the volatility is a defining aspect of Bitcoin bull markets.
He also warned of the possibility of sudden and significant drops of 10-20% in 2024.
Already, Ethereum seen as the closest rival to Bitcoin is soaring to $ 3,897.21 per (ETH / USD) with a current market cap of $ 468.07B USD. 24-hour trading volume is $ 14.81B USD.
Musk’s wallet uncovered
According to on-chain intelligence platform Arkham, blockchain investigators claim to have uncovered the Bitcoin wallets of Elon Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, revealing a combined holding exceeding $1 billion.
According to their analysis, Tesla holds over $771 million worth of Bitcoin across its wallets, while SpaceX wallets contain approximately $555 million in BTC.
The report further delves into the companies’ Bitcoin transaction history since early 2021. Notably, during the crypto crash of May 2022, both Tesla and SpaceX sold off a significant portion of their Bitcoin holdings as prices plummeted. While these sales resulted in a net loss for SpaceX, Tesla managed to break even.
However, SpaceX’s Bitcoin position recovered by November 2023, coincided with the current Bitcoin bull run. Since then, the price of Bitcoin has nearly doubled, propelling SpaceX to a current profit of $132 million on its BTC holdings, according to Arkham’s estimates. Tesla, on the other hand, sits on a $455 million Bitcoin profit.
These findings, if accurate, suggest the extent of Tesla and SpaceX’s Bitcoin investments were previously underestimated.
Previously, analysts estimated Tesla’s holdings to be around 9,720 BTC, while SpaceX’s investment remained unknown. Arkham’s analysis reveals Tesla holds a higher amount of 11,509 BTC.
