Breaking through the $60,000 mark again! Why did Bitcoin suddenly rise over the weekend?

Cailian Press (Shanghai editor Liu Rui) reported that last weekend, Bitcoin once again broke through the $60,000 mark. Prior to this, Bitcoin had been fluctuating in a narrow range below the $60,000 mark for more than two weeks.

According to Bitfinex, Bitcoin once rose to nearly $61,000 at noon on Saturday, setting a new high since March this year. In March this year, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $61,207. As of press time, the price of Bitcoin has retreated slightly and is now at $59,738, down 0.14% on the day. Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has risen by more than 110%.

Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, also hit a record high over the weekend, climbing to $2,190 for the first time.

Why did Bitcoin suddenly rise?

Bitcoin's rise over the weekend may be related to Coinbase's official listing on Nasdaq this week.

Coinbase, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, will go public directly on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, with a valuation that could exceed $90 billion. This is one of the most anticipated events in the crypto industry, and the company's listing could increase Wall Street's confidence and bets on the growth of the cryptocurrency sector.

On the other hand, it may be related to changes in the market supply and demand balance.

Justin d'Anethan, sales manager at Hong Kong digital asset company Diginex, said investors have focused on the stock market and other cryptocurrency markets in the past few weeks, causing Bitcoin to fluctuate around a high of $50,000.

“Just yesterday, when the price of Bitcoin broke through $60,000, the situation changed. The price of Bitcoin broke through as Bitcoin miners stopped selling recently mined Bitcoin, the amount of Bitcoin reserves on exchanges hit multi-year lows, and at the same time, new companies, funds and investors large and small continued to pour into the Bitcoin market,” he said.

The market's enthusiasm for Bitcoin investment is growing

Bitcoin’s stunning rise this year has been fueled by its mainstream acceptance as an investment and means of payment, as retail cash has poured into stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other risky assets.

As large companies such as Bank of New York Mellon, BlackRock, and Mastercard began to support Bitcoin, and companies such as Tesla and online payment company Square also invested in Bitcoin, Bitcoin has gradually been accepted by the mainstream as a means of investment and payment. This has prompted more and more retail investors and institutions to flock to Bitcoin-related stocks, ETFs and other risky assets, and the price of Bitcoin has continued to rise this year.

The continued rise in Bitcoin prices has further attracted the attention of investors, and major Wall Street banks such as Morgan Stanley have also begun to seek to provide channels for investors to invest in Bitcoin for their wealth management clients.

A survey published earlier this year showed that nearly two-thirds of UK investors intend to buy Bitcoin in 2021.

Coinbase revealed last week that in the first quarter of this year, active users on its platform soared to 6.1 million from 2.8 million in the fourth quarter of last year, while registered users soared from 43 million to 56 million.