New Bitcoin’s all-time high: the coin flies past $50,000
By Ali Raza
15:00, 17 February 2021
Last year ended with the crypto industry in a very good place. Bitcoin (BTC), in particular, enjoyed some excellent price progress. The world’s largest cryptocurrency hit its 2017 all-time high in mid-December and, since then, it has been progressing ever-further.
So far, 2021 has already seen rallies, corrections, and then more rallies, as well as numerous new records set.
Bitcoin’s all-time high: a growing list of milestones
When it comes to Bitcoin price behaviour, it is difficult to view it as anything other than a growing list of new records, milestones and achievements. As 2021 kicked off, the coin’s price continued the surge that ended 2020. It had hit $42,000 by January 8, the highest price it had ever reached.
Bitcoin’s all-time high then was followed by a strong correction that took the coin down by $10,000, further encouraging a belief that the rally had ended, Bitcoin had topped out at $42,000, and that a new crypto winter might arrive soon.
Bitcoin then traded sideways for an entire month, but it finally started surging again around February 8, hitting yet another new all-time high at $48,200. Even those who were optimistic about the coin did not expect such a strong comeback after a month of barely any activity. However, the next milestone was $50,000 – not only a major barrier for the BTC price, but also a major achievement in the minds of investors and traders.
BTC was rejected from this resistance several times between February 8 and February 17, but each rejection was followed by a new attempt, and each new attempt allowed the price to come closer to the resistance, finally hitting $50,000 today, February 17 – only a few hours ago.
Bitcoin's highest price record sits even beyond that $50,000 – at $51,630. This is the newest and highest point that the coin has ever reached. After hitting it, the Bitcoin price dropped a bit, currently trading at around $51,341, but still strong, and seemingly preparing to continue its hike.
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What has been pushing Bitcoin forward?
The Bitcoin price has been affected by some news reports. However, this months-long rally has been mainly driven by increasing demand from institutional investors that are now buying massive amounts of BTC and a slowing of supply caused by last year’s halving.
So, the very traditional laws of supply and demand have been the biggest kickstarters of the rally. Along the way, there have been other developments that caused the highest Bitcoin price recorded, such as Elon Musk proclaiming himself as a Bitcoin supporter. Shortly after this, Tesla invested $1.5bn into Bitcoin. This very news saw BTC skyrocket by $10,000 and reach $48,200.
But, if we are talking about Bitcoin’s latest news that may have caused the coin to rise, it is definitely worth mentioning the first Bitcoin ETF ever to be approved and traded in North America. Unfortunately for US users, it did not happen in the United States, as the SEC remains as unfriendly to the idea of a Bitcoin ETF as ever before.
In the north, in crypto-friendlier Canada, however, Toronto Stock Exchange got to list the first BTC ETF on the continent, instantly drawing institutions towards it.
Around the same time, Dubai’s government licensing entity declared that it now accepts Bitcoin as a means of payment.
Even Peter Schiff came up with an extremely bullish prediction. He said that the fact that the coin exceeded his expectations, price-wise, of course, means that BTC could even surge to $100,000.
These events led BTC to the new all-time high, and a massive new record that many did not dare to expect back when the price was sitting at only $3,000, in late 2018.
What is next for the Bitcoin price?
With all eyes on Bitcoin, which is busy making history — investors and traders are equally interested in Bitcoin technical analysis.
This is hardly surprising, as people wish to know the Bitcoin short term forecast, and whether or not to invest right now. After all, the coin could continue surging. However, it might also start dropping, and no one wants to see their investment failing – especially if they paid $50,000 per coin when buying in.
TradingBeasts has been one of the most optimistic sites for Bitcoin price predictions. As it turned out, their predictions were the most accurate – at least when it came to the maximum amounts. According to their most recent Bitcoin price prediction, the coin’s average price in March 2021 will be at around $40,000. This would mean that the price will drop from its current level, which is not unheard of – especially when it comes to such massive barriers as $50,000.
However, the site’s forecast for BTC’s maximum price says that it will be at around $50,150. If Bitcoin continues to act in the same way as it has up to now, it is more than likely that a strong correction, followed by constant fluctuations will take place.
The coin’s price is expected to end the year with an average price of $45,385, but will then keep growing in years to come.
CryptoGround, on the other hand, has a different view. Their BTC price analysis predicts that Bitcoin will see a severe drop to $10,000 relatively soon, and that it will then start seeing steady growth over the course of the next five years. If true, that would mean that BTC would drop by 73 per cent and reach $30,000 again by 2026, which would still make it 18.5 per cent lower than where it is right now. This is a highly unlikely scenario, as Bitcoin never acts with such consistency, and it could never keep a steady growth for five years.
As for the drop of 73 per cent, the only way for that to happen would be if institutions suddenly decided to dump their billions of dollars-worth of BTC stored in the vaults of firms such as GrayScale and MicroStrategy.
The last Bitcoin analysis comes from Wallet Investor, which is currently very bullish, expecting the BTC price to hit $57,000 over a one-year period and keep growing to $95,600 over the course of the next five years. However, BTC typically advances in major, short-lasting leaps, and it doesn’t grow steadily, so this prediction is also unlikely.
In fact, it is far more likely that Peter Schiff’s prediction of a sudden surge to $100,000 will come to pass – this would be a lot more Bitcoin-like behaviour.
Read more: Best cryptocurrency to invest in February 2021: no BTC or ETH included
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