Bitcoin Bulls Unleashed: Surging 20% in One Week – Is This the Dawn of a New Bull Market?

Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a significant surge in price this week, surpassing both the $55,000 and $60,000 milestones. The rally resulted in nearly $300 million in total liquidations. Glassnode, an on-chain market intelligence firm, reported a decrease in BTC supply over the counter (OTC), potentially prompting institutions to purchase Bitcoin from public exchanges.

Bitcoin's price rose above $63,000, signaling potential for further gains amid increasing momentum. The likelihood of BTC reclaiming its $69,000 peak is high as the halving approaches. To challenge the all-time high, BTC must break and close above $63,329. Despite the overbought status indicated by the RSI, technical indicators such as SOPR, RSI, MACD, and AO suggest a bullish trend, with rising momentum and strong presence of bulls in the market.

BTC's growth is attributed to the trading volume of spot bitcoin ETFs, which reached a record $2.4 billion at the beginning of the week, nearly doubling the previous daily average. Bloomberg suggests that bitcoin ETFs may surpass gold ETFs in accumulated capital within two years. Outflows from GBTC slowed to $44 million, the lowest since January 11, resulting in a $7.5 billion loss in AUM since its transition to an ETF. Ethereum has garnered significant investment from financial institutions ahead of the Dencun upgrade, with open interest in Ethereum options reaching an all-time high. Grayscale Research believes the Dencun update will enhance Ethereum's maturity by reducing transaction fees and improving scalability. The Lido liquid-staking protocol now holds $30.56 billion in assets, controlling 32% of Ethereum's total stakes.

The cryptocurrency market has seen gains, reaching $2.17 trillion, equivalent to the peak in April 2022. Bitcoin is now just 15% below its all-time high, while total market capitalization remains 38% below its peak. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index hit 82, indicating extreme greed, reminiscent of levels seen in November 2021. Despite indicators suggesting a potential correction, short-term corrections may only increase buyer greed. The influx of institutionalization via spot ETFs and strong risk appetite from all-time highs in major indices are driving demand. Despite expectations of weak performance before a halving, the current market reality suggests otherwise.

Institutional capital inflows remain a significant driver of Bitcoin's price surge, with the wealth management industry increasingly seeking exposure through ETFs. Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas reported that Bitcoin ETFs are now more appealing than Gold ETFs, and there's a possibility that Bitcoin ETFs' assets under management could surpass Gold ETFs' in less than two years. The explosive price action this week led to a near full recovery of Bitcoin's realized cap, reaching $467.2 billion, just 0.22% below its peak. Despite the remarkable surge, Bitcoin has seen minimal corrections, with one analyst noting that it hasn't experienced a correction of more than 5% for over a month, indicating strong bullish sentiment and restrained profit-taking behavior among investors.