Bitcoin has undergone a major resurgence over the last several weeks amid a recent crypto winter to hold its price at $60,000 on Wednesday morning (28 February).
The price is the highest the world’s largest cryptocurrency has been at since November 2021 during the peak years of the market’s performance in the early 2020s.
Over the last week, Bitcoin’s price surged by over 18% and, more impressively, increased by 161% from the same day a year prior when its price sat at just $20,150, according to CoinMarketCap.
There are several factors as to the stark rise in Bitcoin’s price over the past several weeks, one being the arrival of Bitcoin ETFs to securities exchanges last January, which have been hugely instrumental in bringing cryptocurrency to the mainstream.
Two of the largest asset management companies in the world, BlackRock and Grayscale, played a significant role in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving Bitcoin ETFs.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust is experiencing record highs since launching on 8 January, currently trading at $12,151 at the time of writing. This figure is an 18% increase since its initial offering of $10,000 on launch day.
Similarly, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF has also seen growth since SEC approval on 8 January, from $39 to $50.85 as of the time of writing, a 30% increase.
The more accessible and secure approach to Bitcoin by the ETFs has enabled the cryptocurrency to reach a new high since late 2021. The boom comes after Bitcoin endured a significant down period in 2022 and 2023 due to market decline.
The ‘crypto winter’ of the two aforementioned years was a result of high-profile collapses of FTX and TerraLuna in particular, which snowballed into several other crypto companies filing for bankruptcy and shattering investor confidence in the process.
Whilst other cryptocurrencies are continuing to shake off these effects, Bitcoin has rallied and has now appeared to have left this burden behind.
The all-time Bitcoin price was set at $69,045 on 10 November, 2021.
