Bitcoin late Wednesday spiked to $98,349, CoinDesk data showed, posting yet another all-time high after the U.S. elections registered a broad victory for Republicans. Bitcoin held above $97,000 early Thursday. The world's largest cryptocurrency has rallied 132% so far this year.
Some analysts expect bitcoin to hit $100,000 by year-end, a target now easily in reach. Bernstein expects bitcoin to reach $200,000 by 2025.
Bitcoin has continued with the charge to fresh record highs, seemingly on a mission to take out the much talked about psychological barrier at $100,000," Joel Kruger market strategist at LMAX Group wrote to IBD. Kruger noted that as of early Thursday, bitcoin is up 64% in Q4. Meanwhile, bitcoin has averaged more than 80% returns in the fourth quarter since 2013.
"The reason we bring this up is not to say the market is overextended, rather to highlight the possibility we still have more room to run in 2024," Kruger wrote, referencing the historical returns. "This leaves bitcoin with another 16% to match those average returns, which suggests we could see an overshoot of $100,000 and through $110,000 before the year is out."
The latest record high follows a push from the start of options trading for spot bitcoin ETFs this week, led by BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) on Tuesday. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust (BITB), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin (FBTC) launched options trading Wednesday.
🚨Bitcoin ETF flows
The iShares Bitcoin Trust for its Tuesday launch tallied exposure of nearly $1.9 billion with 354,000 contracts traded, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. The action included 289,000 calls and 65,000 puts, representing a 4.4:1 call-to-put ratio. That indicates more investors banking on a bitcoin price increase than decline.
"These options were almost certainly part of the move to the new bitcoin all time highs," Seyffart wrote. Fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called the trading volumes "unheard of" for the first day.
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