Pioneer cryptocurrency Bitcoin did one for the record books today after it crossed the $22,000 mark for the first time in its 12-year history.
The milestone came mere hours after the asset reached an all-time high of $20,000, bumped immediately afterward to $21,000, and then marched on to $22,000.
Bitcoin has surged by 10% in the past two weeks alone and is up over 400% since March lows. A flash crash at the time led to sentiment turning negative for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, but it has since led its recovery to price levels unlike anything seen before.
Most in the crypto world are now calling for a $30,000 Bitcoin in the short-term, and a rally to as high as $250,000 by the end of 2021. For now, however, the asset is primed for attracting new money into the space, with individuals like Antoni Trenchev, the cofounder of Nexo, stating the newfound prices would lead to new media narratives and, in turn, more retail participants.
BTC to $400,000?
The mythical Wall Street firms have taken notice and are rushing into the sector. As per a Bloomberg report today, Guggenheim Partners LLC, recently said it might invest up to 10% of its $5.3 billion Macro Opportunities Fund in a Bitcoin trust.
“Our fundamental work shows that Bitcoin should be worth about $400,000,” says Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd https://t.co/9QyOWyYAVA pic.twitter.com/uojQqaKPia
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) December 16, 2020
The firm said it was targeting Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product for its exposure to the rising asset. The GBTC is a publicly-traded instrument that tracks the price of Bitcoin and charges investors a premium (currently 25%) for the convenience.
Scott Minerd, the head of Guggenheim Investments, said in an interview yesterday that Bitcoin’s scarcity combined with “rampant money printing” by the US Federal Reserve meant the asset could see a price of $400,000.
Minerd said:
“Bitcoin has a lot of the attributes of gold and at the same time has an unusual value in terms of transactions.”
He added that Guggenheim first decided to invest in Bitcoin when the asset traded in the $10,000 range. It has risen over 100% since.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin does not seem to be stopping anytime soon. Orderbook data from crypto exchange Bitfinex showed that “there was no selling interest until $50,000,” a metric that Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream,” pointed out today.
If you are wondering why, look at the @bitfinex orderbook, where price formation happens, since $19k yesterday. Per @paoloardoino not much sell interest from here to $50k, or even $20m zoomed out. People remove sells. Sell steps shrinking by the minute as people buy and retract. pic.twitter.com/AVt1xO7QuU
— Adam Back (@adam3us) December 17, 2020
It’s uncharted waters indeed.
Bitcoin, currently ranked #1 by market cap, is up 15.33% over the past 24 hours. BTC has a market cap of $421.72B with a 24 hour volume of $68.45B.
Bitcoin Price Chart
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