Bitcoin Blasting Toward Biggest Monthly Gain in 3 Years

Bitcoin

(BTC)
is
on
track
to
finish
its
strongest
month
since
December
2020.
Even
with
prices
hovering
near
all-time
records,
this
bull
market
isn’t
close
to
peaking,
analysts
said.

The
largest
crypto
asset
by
market
capitalization
has
gained
a
staggering
44%
in
February,
piercing
$50,000
and
$60,000
for
the
first
time
in
years
and
hitting
a
$64,000
high

Wednesday.
The
rally
followed
a

sell-the-news
pullback
below
$40,000
following
the
debut
of
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
(ETF)
in
the
U.S.
in
late
January.

Bitcoin
has
a
shot
at
ending
the
month
at
its
highest
price
ever.
To
do
so,
it
needs
to
top
$61,357
by
midnight
UTC,
the
Oct.
2021
closing
price
near
the
peak
of
the
previous
market
cycle.
At
press
time,
BTC
changed
hands
at
around
$61,200.

Read
more:



Bitcoin
Is
Hitting
All-Time
Highs
Around
the
World

February’s
crypto
rally
was
broad-based,
with
the
CoinDesk
20
Index
(CD20)
advancing
more
than
40%.

Decentralized
exchange
Uniswap’s
governance
token

(UNI),
decentralized
data
storage
network
Filecoin’s

FIL,
and
popular
meme
token
dogecoin

(DOGE)
were
the
best
performers
of
the
CD20,
outperforming
BTC’s
gains.

While
bitcoin’s
price
is
hovering
near
its
all-time
high,
some
analysts
still
see
further
upside.

“We
haven’t
even
begun
to
reach
the
heights
this
is
likely
to
go.”
Alex
Thorn,
head
of
firmwide
research
at
Galaxy,
said
in
a
market
analysis

posted
on
X
(formerly
Twitter)
Thursday.
He
argued
that
the
U.S.
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
are
a
“game
changer,”
providing
steady
–
and
recently
accelerating
–
demand
for
BTC.
Meanwhile,
some
75%
of
bitcoin’s
supply
is
owned
by
long-term
holders,
who
have
been
unwilling
to
sell
so
far
at
recent
price
levels.

On-chain
transaction
volume
on
the
Bitcoin
network
and
retail
interest
in
crypto
are
still
far
off
from
levels
experienced
during
prior
peaks,
IntoTheBlock
analysts

noted.

Crypto
analytics
firm
Swissblock
predicted
that
bitcoin’s
current
uptrend
is
“just
the
start
of
what
is
to
come.”

“Sustained
buying
pressure
and
strong
bullish
signals
from
both
oscillators
and
moving
averages
suggest
that
BTC
is
poised
for
continued
upward
momentum,”
Swissblock
analysts
said
in
a
Thursday
report.

However,
they
urged
caution
against
rushing
into
the
market
just
now.

“Instead
of
chasing
the
market
at
these
elevated
levels,
a
more
prudent
approach
may
be
to
wait
for
short-term
pullbacks
for
buying
opportunities,”
they
wrote.

In
a
somewhat
more
bearish
long-term
outlook,
a
JPMorgan
analyst
report

forecasted
BTC
to
correct
to
as
low
as
$42,000
after
the
April
halving,
when
rewards
for
miners
will
be
cut
in
half
for
the
fourth
time
in
Bitcoin
history.