Bitcoin tops $57,000 for 1st time in over 2 years, Ethereum crosses $3,200

Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin has gained 33 per cent, primarily due to the high demand of its recently launched ETFs

Bitcoin on Tuesday crossed the $57,000 mark for the first time since December 2021 on the back of high demand for its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and purchases by Microstrategy. Ethereum, the second largest crypto token by market cap, also topped $3,200 for the first time since April 2022.

Bitcoin, however, fell below $56,000 after touching $57,055. In the last 24 hours, it has gained more than 8 per cent and at 9:30 am, it was trading at $55,800, according to CoinMarketCap. Ethereum was up 3.5 per cent and was trading at $3.214.

"Bitcoin is now the second largest ETF commodity in the US, surpassing Silver which has $11.5 billion in assets under management," said Zakhil Suresh, chef executive officer at BitSave.

Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin has gained 33 per cent, primarily due to the high demand for its recently launched ETFs. According to a report by Bloomberg, since their launch on January 11 this year, the Bitcoin ETFs have attracted investments to the tune of $5.6 billion. This is leading to optimism not only in Bitcoin but also in Ethereum.

According to Edul Patel, chief executive officer (CEO) at Mudrex, there is also a positive sentiment as bitcoin halving approaches. The halving is scheduled to take place in April.

"Additionally, MicroStrategy also acquired an additional 3,000 Bitcoin for $155 million also added to the positive sentiment in the market," Patel said.

MicroStrategy is an enterprise software firm that buys Bitcoin as part of its corporate strategy.

The combined value of crypto assets now stands at around $2.2 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. During the bear market in 2022, when the FTX and other crypto platforms collapsed, the cap had fallen to about $820 billion. Shivam Thakral, CEO at BuyUcoin said that Bitcoin has added $100 billion to its market cap in one single day. 

"The next resistance lies at the $57,400 level and the $60,000," said Patel.

"Important level to cross right now for Bitcoin is the $60k resistance to continue its uptrend going into halving," Suresh added. 

Ryan Lee, chief analyst and Bitget Research said that Ethereum is not expected to have any major pullback before May. He said it would "follow Bitcoin shock break through $3,500" with support at $2,600.