Leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) extended its rally on Friday as bulls strengthened against bears, pushing the BTC price above $67,000. Bitcoin’s market value surpassed $1.32 trillion amidst renewed positive sentiment in the crypto industry following cooling CPI inflation and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s dismissal of stagflation and other related concerns. Is further upside possible, or is the next step downward?
BTC Trading Volume Rises
US stock indices rose as investors acknowledged that slowing inflationary pressures revived the possibility of a rate cut in September, and strong corporate earnings further boosted confidence. BTC price surged over 10% weekly, rising 3% to surpass $67,000. The 24-hour low and high were $64,613 and $67,459, respectively.
Moreover, the increase in low trading volumes, along with the liquidation of high-leverage positions, indicates that whales and large investors are turning bullish on Bitcoin. Data from crypto analytics firm CoinGlass shows that over $130 million was liquidated in the crypto markets in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin saw approximately $45 million in liquidations, with $31 million in short positions liquidated. Most of the liquidations occurred in the past few hours.
BTC’s $150,000 Target
Additionally, over 42,000 investors were liquidated, with the largest liquidation order occurring on the crypto exchange BitMEX, where someone executed XBTUSD transactions worth $4.80 million. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju stated that Bitcoin is in the middle of a bull cycle. On-chain data growth rate difference indicates that the bull cycle should end by April next year.
Popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital suggested that Bitcoin’s price is now out of the post-halving danger zone. He predicted that the BTC price would start rising towards $150,000. Bitcoin option investors have called for a higher strike price up to $70,000, with some even calling for $80,000 for the monthly expiry on May 31. Additionally, Santiment data shows that sentiment has shifted towards Bitcoin following the sudden jump above $66,000.
