Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a significant surge above the $59,000 level during European morning hours on Wednesday, marking a 5% increase over the past 24 hours and reaching a staggering $1.2 trillion market capitalization.
The price spike coincided with spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recording over $3 billion in cumulative trading volumes on Tuesday, contributing to heightened demand for the cryptocurrency. Additionally, some traders attributed the surge to anticipation surrounding the upcoming bitcoin halving event expected in April, fueling a pre-halving rally sentiment.
Meanwhile, the broader CoinDesk 20 index (CD20) also witnessed a substantial jump, climbing nearly 3% in response to Bitcoin’s surge.
Despite the bullish momentum, futures bets on lower bitcoin prices saw approximately $25 million in liquidations since Asian morning hours, according to Coinglass data, potentially further driving the upward price movement.
In addition to Bitcoin’s rally, major altcoins such as ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and XRP observed gains of up to 3% since Asian morning hours, as reported by CoinGecko data.
Amidst the market euphoria, the fear and greed index, a sentiment metric tracking the rate of change in asset movement against inherent fundamentals, flashed a reading of 82 on Wednesday – indicating extreme greed and reaching its highest level in over a year. Such a high level of greed typically signals a potential market correction, according to the index’s developers.
However, traders seem undeterred by the warning signs, with some expressing optimism and expecting bitcoin to surpass its previous all-time highs of $69,000, potentially in March.
