Bitcoin continued its rise, hitting a two-year high Tuesday (Feb. 27) and surpassing $57,000 as big buyers flock to the cryptocurrency market.
The digital currency has seen a more than 10% increase in value in just two sessions, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The recent surge in bitcoin’s price can be attributed in part to large players entering the market, according to the report. For example, MicroStrategy, a crypto investor and software firm, announced Monday (Feb. 26) that it had purchased 3,000 bitcoins for $155 million, further fueling the rally.
Additionally, the approval of bitcoin-owning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States has also contributed to bitcoin’s bullish run, the report said.
Ether, bitcoin’s smaller rival, also saw significant gains, topping $3,200 for the first time since 2022, per the report.
The rally in bitcoin comes ahead of the bitcoin halving event scheduled for April, which is expected to further reduce the supply of bitcoin, according to the report. This event, combined with the increasing demand for cryptocurrencies, has pushed bitcoin’s value up by 32% in February.
Market participants are also anticipating the possible regulatory approval of spot ether ETFs, which could further boost ethereum’s price, the report said.
The cryptocurrency market is maturing rapidly, with major players like Reddit investing in bitcoin, ether and other digital assets, per the report. Reddit also said it is using these digital assets to pay for certain virtual goods.
This news comes about two weeks after bitcoin reached $50,000 for the first time in 26 months. When bitcoin hit that milestone Feb. 12, it was the first time it had done so since December 2021 and it marked a recovery for a digital asset whose value plummeted 64% in 2022.
Venture capital (VC) firms are returning to the cryptocurrency and Web3 space as well, PYMNTS reported Friday (Feb. 23). These investors appear to be focused more on infrastructure plays than in the past, with funding being directed much less to service providers in favor of building foundational ecosystems.
Smaller investors are also returning to crypto, though with less enthusiasm than they had in the past. These everyday crypto enthusiasts, who lost billions when the marketed plummeted in 2022, could be returning to the space in the wake of last month’s launch of U.S. ETFs investing directly in bitcoin.
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