Bitcoin approached its all-time record high on Monday after surpassing the $67,000 threshold — a notable shift from late 2022 when the value of the token fell below $17,000.
The most popular cryptocurrency was trading 7% higher, at 67,580.70 as of 3:30pm on Monday – a 300% improvement from its low – and within striking distance of its all-time high of $68,999.
Since the start of the year, bitcoin has seen its market value rise more than 50% — most of it in the past few weeks — following the approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds last month.
Its launch has opened the way to new major investors and reignited enthusiasm and momentum reminiscent of the period that reached record levels in 2021.
“The flows are inexhaustible, as investors feel more confident that prices appear to be rising,” said Markus Thelen, head of research at cryptocurrency analytics firm 10x Research in Singapore.
Net inflows into the 10 largest U.S. spot bitcoin funds reached $2.17 billion in the week ending March 1, with more than half of that going to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, according to LSEG data.
Bitcoin's recovery has been buoyed by other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, which saw its value rise by about 15% in the past week.
One Ethereum coin was trading at $3,600 as of 2pm ET on Monday.
Mimi stocks such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu also saw gains of 13% and 39%, respectively.
Bitcoin's resurgence also boosted other cryptocurrency stocks listed on US exchanges on Monday.
Coinbase, the popular cryptocurrency exchange, saw its shares rise more than 12% to $231.42 per share as of 2:16 PM ET.
MicroStrategy, the software company with more than 190,000 bitcoins on its balance sheet, saw its stock price rise 18% to $1,278 per share.
The rise came alongside falling benchmarks for stock indexes from Japan's Nikkei to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq and with lower measures of volatility in stocks and foreign currencies.
“In a world where the Nasdaq is hitting all-time highs, cryptocurrencies will do well as bitcoin remains a high-volatility technology proxy and liquidity thermometer,” said Brent Donnelly, trader and president at analyst firm Spectra Markets.
“We are back to a 2021-style market where everything is up and everyone is having fun.”
