According to data by CryptoCompare, around 15:35 UTC on Friday (February 19), the Bitcoin price reached $53,673, thereby making Bitcoin’s market cap go over $1 trillion for the first time ever.
However, Bitcoin’s rally did not stop there; according to data by TradingView, the BTC price reached $54,688 by 16:38 UTC.
Currently (as of 16:42 UTC), CryptoCompare’s average Bitcoin price across major exchanges is $54,838, up 5.34% in the past 24-hour period and up 89.27% in the year-to-date (YTD) period.
Two things seem responsible for today’s price action:
- BNB going up 57% in the past 24-hour period to reach $303.84, thereby becoming the third most valuable cryptoasset by market cap.
- MicroStrategy Inc. announcing “the closing of its previously announced offering of 0% convertible senior notes due 2027” (the aggregate principal amount of the notes sold in this offering was $1.05 billion).
Crypto analyst Scott Melker had this warning for those still bearish on Bitcoin:
Another person who believes that Bitcoin’s market cap can go much higher is Binance Co-Founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Charles Hayter, Co-Founder and CEO of leading cryptoassets market data provider CryptoCompare had this to about the reasons for Bitcoin’s very strong performance since last August:
“This ongoing tightening of supply driven by significant purchases by corporations eying the long-term view comes at a time where friction for institutional investors to gain exposure to digital assets is rapidly reducing, creating a perfect storm for Bitcoin price appreciation.
“The recent $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin by Tesla for use as a treasury reserve asset has further legitimised the inflation hedge narrative and the ‘store of value’ use case for Bitcoin. In doing so it has made it much more likely other corporations will follow suit as it is harder to look foolish after one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and innovative companies have made such a high profile commitment to Bitcoin.“
And finally, earlier today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained that the reason his company had decided to invest $1.5 trillion in Bitcoin:
Featured Image by “SnapLaunch” via Pixabay.com
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
