- Bitcoin price has surged 27% in the past week, currently trading at $65,037 which is just 6% below its all-time high of $69,044 set in November 2021.
- While bitcoin has yet to surpass its all-time high in USD, it has already reached new record highs when priced in certain international currencies like Euros, Chinese yuan, and British pounds.
- Open interest in bitcoin options expiring on March 29th has climbed 10% in the past day to over $30 billion, with some traders betting on bitcoin hitting $70,000 before month’s end.
Bitcoin has started the week strong, trading above $65,000 and coming within 6% of its record high. As the largest cryptocurrency builds momentum, all eyes are on whether it can eclipse its historic peak.
Bitcoin Price Climbs Close to November 2021 Highs
The bitcoin price currently sits at $65,037, representing a 6% gain over yesterday’s price. Over just the past week, the price has surged an impressive 27%, per CoinGecko data.
If bitcoin can replicate that 6% daily gain, it will reach its all-time high of $69,044 set on November 10, 2021. The world’s first and most valuable digital currency by market cap has seen $27 billion in trading volume so far today, already exceeding yesterday’s full-day volume. This signals that weekend bitcoin trading has declined in popularity with investors.
New Highs in International Currencies, But Not Yet USD
While bitcoin has yet to definitively eclipse its all-time USD price record, it has already set fresh highs when priced in certain international currencies.
On November 10, 2021, the same day that bitcoin hit its $69,044 USD all-time high, it reached a peak of €59,716.82 priced in Euros. As of this writing, the price sits at €59,901.25 – surpassing that previous Euro-denominated record. Over the weekend, bitcoin also posted new highs priced in Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, British pound sterling, and Indian rupees.
So why are new highs appearing in some currencies but not USD? In November 2021, 1 euro equaled approximately $1.16. But the euro has since weakened to $1.08, meaning the dollar now holds more purchasing power relative to the euro and other currencies compared to 2021.
March 29 Options Expiry Fuels Speculation
With bitcoin’s next halving just 25 days away, open interest in options expiring March 29 continues to climb steadily. Open interest, referring to the total value of outstanding contracts, has jumped 10% in the past day to over $30 billion according to CoinGlass.
As bitcoin approaches its fourth ever halving event, which has historically sparked major bull runs, an unprecedented amount of open interest sits in soon-expiring options. Traders use these derivatives contracts to bet on future bitcoin price moves.
Currently, $775 million worth of open longs on exchange Deribit are betting on bitcoin reaching $70,000 before March comes to a close.
