Cryptocurrency traders are feeling vindicated for their staunch support of the asset class – with the memories of crypto winter fading into the background – as Bitcoin’s (BTC) price hit its highest level since December 2021 on Wednesday, bolstered by ETF flows and halving hype.
One year ago, #Bitcoin was $21.6K.
Uncertainties started to rise whether crypto will be fully regulated or blocked by the SEC.
One year later, #Bitcoin inflows +$2B in four days of trading on Wall Street.
Massive interest in the asset, and just getting started.— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 14, 2024
Stocks bounced back from Tuesday’s pullback but failed to recoup all the losses as traders continue to evaluate what higher-for-longer interest rates mean for their portfolios. Many analysts said they are not surprised that the recent rally stalled at this time as both the S&P and Nasdaq hit record highs on Monday and continue to trade at elevated valuations despite the headwinds facing the global economy.
At the closing bell, the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq all finished in the green, up 0.96%, 0.40%, and 1.3%, respectively.
Data provided by TradingView shows that after bulls reclaimed support at $50,000 following yesterday’s pullback, a new wave of momentum saw the top crypto surge 4.6% in trading on Wednesday to hit a daily high of $52,130 before retracing to support at $51,700, where it trades at the time of writing.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
The rally above $52,000 is a notable event because it pushed the top crypto’s market capitalization above $1 trillion for the first time since Nov. 2021 and marked a 21% increase over the past 7 days.
Many analysts who had called for a pullback into the low 30k range now find themselves scrambling to cover short positions while rising inflows into spot BTC ETFs suggest that FOMO is starting to build for retail and institutional investors who feel the sting of regret with every $1,000 increase in BTC price.
As market analyst Fred Krueger noted, “Tom Lee suggests [BTC Fomo] kicks in when you are at a level where only 3% of its days over the BTC history it has traded higher. After that, he expects a 200% to 400% gain over the next 5 months.”
Krueger added that with Bitcoin spending less than four months above $50k in its history, that is now the level to watch, and Wednesday’s move higher could result in BTC hitting a price “between 100K and 200K in the next 5 months.”
“Let the FOMO begin,” said crypto media channel Crypto Banter, as the bull market fractal suggests that Bitcoin “should top out in around 575 days,” and the halving is expected to occur in 64 days.
But reminding everyone that nothing is certain in crypto was market analyst Justin Bennett, who posted the following tweet warning that Bitcoin has a history of hitting significant price levels in the process of topping out, and highlighted the range between $47,000 and $49,000 as the level that BTC needs to hold to extend the rally, adding that this outlook is invalidated “on a sustained break above $53,500.”
This is NOT a doomsday post.
This is NOT a sell everything and panic post.
This IS a simple reminder of how #Bitcoin carves significant tops.
$47-$49k is the line in the sand.
Invalidation on a sustained break above $53,500.
Your move, $BTC. ⌛️ pic.twitter.com/eGD9FZp3r5— Justin Bennett (@JustinBennettFX) February 14, 2024
FOMO drives gains in the altcoin market
Altcoins were riding high thanks to the strength displayed by Bitcoin, with all but a dozen tokens in the top 200 recording gains on Wednesday and only one token seeing a loss of over 2%.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Solana-based meme token dogwifhat (WIF) was the biggest gainer with an increase of 21.4%, followed by Nervos Network (CKB), which climbed 20.8%, and API3 (API3), which gained 17.5%. Astar (ASTR) declined 2.36% to trade at $0.175, while Storj (STORJ) fell 1.84%, and Oasys (OAS) lost 1.68%.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.93 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 52.6%.
