Bitcoin Skyrockets, Smashes Through USD 67,000, Ethereum, Altcoins Rally

By Fredrik Vold

Source: Adobe/elen31

The price of the number one cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), has just smashed through its all-time high of around USD 64,800, rallying above USD 67,000.

The upwards move happened in an explosive way over the course of just 5 minutes, starting at 13:40 UTC, before a slight reversal came, followed by even more upside later.

At 15:02 UTC, BTC trades USD 67,106 and is up by 7% in a day and 18% in a week, per Coingecko data.

Following the move in bitcoin, ethereum (ETH) also rose higher. At the same time, it trades at USD 4,089 and is up by 7% in a day and also 18% in a week. Other than that, the period between May 10 and 15 this year is the only time in ETH’s history when it has traded above the USD 4,000 mark. Other major altcoins are up by 2%-10% in a day.

As usual, liquidations also followed, with data from Bybt showing that short positions on bitcoin worth nearly USD 77m were liquidated across major exchanges during the last hour.

As reported, the new all-time high in US dollars today follows highs in a number of other fiat currencies earlier, including the euro and the Japanese yen.

As the underlying spot bitcoin market, the newly launched bitcoin futures-backed ETF, BITO, also soared higher today, reaching a price per share of USD 43.60 at 14:36 UTC. That compares to a price of USD 40.99 for the first recorded trade yesterday, when the ETF launched.

The same was also the case for the futures contracts backing the fund, which are traded at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Worth noting, however, is that the futures did not trade at a very large premium over spot, as some have forecasted, but instead stayed within USD 400 to 500 of the spot price of Coinbase. 

Meanwhile, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today revealed that ETF issuer VanEck has received approval to launch its own bitcoin futures-backed ETF, following Tuesday’s successful launch of ProShares’ fund.

According to the filing, the ETF is approved for listing effective October 23, which happens to be a Saturday. It is therefore likely that the first trading day for VanEck’s bitcoin ETF will be Monday, October 25.

VanEck’s bitcoin ETF will trade under the ticker XBTF, and will be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange, the fund’s prospectus said.

Commenting on the approval of the ETFs, Kay Khemani, Managing Director at crypto trading platform Spectre.ai, said in an emailed comment to Cryptonews.com that the “bitcoin story has been in somewhat of a holding pattern this year.”

“Favorable regulation for bitcoin which would see it being weaved into the existing financial fabric has been one of the biggest upside catalysts for the bull run,” Khemani said, adding that the ETF approvals “will allow for further institutional adoption of the asset over time and thus lead to increased demand.”

Similarly, Jesse Proudman, Co-founder and CEO at crypto advisory Makara, told Bloomberg that crypto as an asset class is here to stay. 

“It’s a validating moment. It’s no longer a question of does this asset class continue to exist – I think that’s a really meaningful mark in the history of the broader digital-asset class,” Proudman said.

BTC price chart:
 

Source: coingecko.com

____

Reactions:

Markethive, built on the Cardano Blockchain, has infused the power of Inbound Marketing into the News Feed and infused the power of the social network into the Inbound Marketing platform, which means it’s an enhanced Social Network hybrid. It’s where the needs of the entrepreneur, marketer, business, and corporation are not only met but put at the forefront.  Click Here to sign up for free and get 500 Hivecoin airdrop.