coindesk.com
Bitcoin (BTC) surged above the $59,000 level in European morning hours on Wednesday, adding 5% in the past 24 hours and reaching a $1.2 trillion market capitalization.
The price spike came as spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded over $3 billion in cumulative trading volumes on Tuesday, contributing to demand. Some traders also pointed to the bitcoin halving event, expected in April, as a new narrative that causes a pre-halving rally.
Meanwhile, the broader CoinDesk 20 index (CD20) jumped nearly 3%.
Futures bets on lower bitcoin prices took on $25 million in liquidations since Asian morning hours, Coinglass data shows, which may have contributed to the price spike.
Elsewhere, major tokens ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL and XRP gained as much as 3% since Asian morning hours, CoinGecko data shows.
Meanwhile, the fear and greed index, a sentiment metric that tracks the rate of change in asset movement against inherent fundamentals, flashed 82 on Wednesday – implying extreme greed and reaching the highest such level in over a year.
The index is rated on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being the most fearful and 100 being the most greedy. A greedy environment is considered a sign of euphoria, which “means the market is due for a correction,” the index’s developers say.
Traders remain unfazed, however, with some expecting bitcoin to cross its previous highs of $69,000 in March.