BTC back above $72K

Perhaps in anticipation of the upcoming Bitcoin halving, investors once again flocked to digital-asset vehicles last week. Data shows more than $600 million flowed into crypto funds, such as the 3-month-old spot BTC ETFs that now trade in the U.S. And, in a possible reflection of regained positive momentum, the largest crypto climbed back above $72K.

It's a critical mark, higher than BTC's November 2021 all-time high near $69K and within striking distance of the recently established (March 14, 2024) new ATH of $73,740.

On April Fools’ Day, BTC boasted of a $70K handle perhaps never to be relinquished. But that claim turned out to be a hoax.

By April 2, BTC was down to $65K. But then the biggest of all crypto assets battled back to $69K by April 4. It held tightly near that mark for several days.

Sunday's weekly close (in Asia) came in at $69,000 after a slog of a weekend during which time BTC inched higher, grinding it out on mere retail action as institutional players enjoyed their weekend. At some point last night, the trajectory shifted. Once $70K was breached, $71K and $72K came easily and in succession between 3 a.m. (EST) and 5:30 a.m. (EST).

"Bitcoin starts the second week of April in classic bull market fashion," Cointelegraph said.

In Asia, traders bid up prices in a bawdy session, producing a sudden burst of upside volatility. On Bitstamp, BTC spiked as high as $72,573, Cointelegraph said.

A historic countdown has begun with most experts now in agreement that, with 1,738 blocks left to be mined until the auto-triggering of the reward reduction (from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC) kicks in, this halving event most likely will take place on April 17.

Meanwhile, traders across a large swath of North America, including 15 U.S. states, are gearing up for a sky-watching afternoon, clouds permitting, with only hours to go before a total solar eclipse. Warning: never look at the sun without special eye protection.

Wormhole (W), wriggling through a muddy path toward an above-green-grass existence, easily could have been mistaken for a stablecoin earlier today when it hit $1.00 even. That was about 6 a.m. (EST).

W, which is the industry's 71st-largest coin, is the native asset of Wormhole, a Solana-run DEX. W tokens debuted via an airdrop this past Wednesday, fast-establishing a market capitalization above $3B. W's ATH of $1.66 came that groundbreaking first day, April 3. Within 48 hours, W fell to as low as $0.92.

Meanwhile, not-quite-one-week-old Ethena (ENA) took a plunge after hitting a peak of $1.26 about 19 hours ago. ENA, native token of Ethena's Ethereum-leveraging stablecoin ecosystem, has fallen 10.5% since then.

The next total eclipse – with the moon momentarily obscuring the sun, creating eerie mid-afternoon twilight – won't occur in the Northeast for another twenty years.

The last-ever Bitcoin halving is expected to take place in 2140. That's when the number of circulating BTCs will reach the theoretical maximum supply of 21 million.

As far as when BTC will next fall below $50K, the answer, says Dylan LeClair, analyst at UTXO Management, is probably not any time soon. LeClair points to the increasing frequency with which BTC attains higher support levels, coupled with relatively calm derivatives markets, as seemingly signaling only a slim chance of BTC's price dropping to $50K in the near term.

Not only is the glass half full when it comes to BTC prognostications but the cup actually runneth over. Turns out, BTC could double by July, per Bollinger Bands, a technical analysis indicator. Cointelegraph flagged an X post from pseudonymous analyst TechDev trumpeting BTC closing above the upper Bollinger Band for two consecutive months, while also underscoring the fact that every time BTC had achieved this feat in the past – its price doubled within the next three months. This thesis puts BTC at $140,000 in time for annual Fourth of July fireworks.