Bitcoin Price Surpassed $56,000, market capitalization – $1 Trln
CryptoBit News Today1 min read
Bitcoin's market value surpassed $1 trillion on Friday, just days after it pushed past the $50,000 barrier for the first time.
The surge has been partially credited to strong demand from investors looking for an inflation hedge.
Bitcoin represents about 1% of all the world's money. By comparison, that's more than the total market capitalization of Facebook, according to market data.
Rising above
Speculators, institutional investors, and corporate treasurers are all believed to have fueled bitcoin's price rise.
Tesla said in early February that it purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin in January and may soon accept bitcoins as payment for cars, while asset manager BlackRock also began dabbling in cryptocurrency. MicroStrategy announced on Friday that it completed a $1.05 billion senior debt sale to acquire more bitcoin.
Meanwhile, North America's first publicly traded bitcoin ETF, managed by Canada-based Purpose Investments, registered $165 million in trading volume on its opening day. Options market participants have noted one-month implied volatility also dropped on Friday according to analytics data from Skew.
"The bulls have taken hold of the markets," reiterated Denis Vinokourov, head of research at Bequant.
Michael Burry, founder of Scion Asset Management, noted that in an inflationary crisis, governments will move to squash competitors in the currency arena, adding $BTC and gold to his comments.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's push for the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion stimulus package has also been cited as a contributor to the latest rally.
Guy Hirsch, U.S. managing director at eToro, suggested that the market could see a pullback in the near future if traders grow accustomed to regular announcements.
