In brief
- Bitcoin soared above $112,000 on Coinbase before retreating.
- The largest crypto by market capitalization’s had lingered in a range for weeks.
- Ethereum, XRP and Solana were also in positive territory.
The price of Bitcoin hit a new all-time high price on Wednesday according to crypto exchange Coinbase, which showed a new peak of about $112,055 at about 3:55 p.m. ET.
Coinbase’s previous high mark was $111,891, set in May. Bitcoin spiked Wednesday afternoon in the minutes leading up to the new mark as investors liquidated more than $280 million in short positions in a one-hour period.
In a note to Decrypt, Strahinja Savic, head of data analytics at crypto advisory FRNT Financial, wrote that “the stars have aligned for Bitcoin” as investors consider it as a hedge against the uncertainties that plague fiat currencies.
“For the asset’s proponents, the global situation is exactly why they would have bought the asset in the first place,” Savic wrote. “In the U.S., there is growing awareness that the fiscal situation is unsustainable and that the country lacks the capacity for reform.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was up more than 2% over the past 24 hours. BTC has risen about 20% year-to-date. Major altcoins also soared with Ethereum, the second largest digital asset by market value, rising more than 5% from Tuesday, same time and XRP and Solana both jumping more than 3%.
Major equity indexes closed in positive territory, albeit mildly, with the tech-focused Nasdaq up near a percentage point and the S&P 500, which has a hefty technology component, climbing 0.6%. Safe-haven asset gold rose 0.13%
The surge followed a weeks-long lull in which BTC had lingered in a range between $106,000 and $110,000 as investors fretted about trade tariffs, the U.S. central bank’s continued interest rate hawkishness, and wider macroeconomic uncertainties.
“Beyond the U.S., there is no shortage of geopolitical and macro anxieties, from the Russia-Ukraine war to Middle East hostilities,” Savic wrote.
He added: In this context, a new digital, scarce, peer-to-peer asset outside the control of any one government simply resonates with investors. We are seeing the price of Bitcoin catch up to its emerging global safe-haven status.”
Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated with new information.
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