Bitcoin’s market value touches record as token’s price nears all-time high

Bitcoin’s price is in sight of an all-time high and the crypto faithful are on tenterhooks for a never-before-seen level. But in market value terms the token already touched a record.

The market capitalization of Bitcoin reached $1.35 trillion, scaling the peak of $1.28 trillion from November 2021, CoinGecko data show. That was the month the token jumped to $68,991.85 at the apogee of its pandemic-era bull run.

Bitcoin’s supply has grown since then, taking its capitalization to new ground amid the oldest cryptocurrency’s latest rally. The largest digital asset dipped 1% to $66,928 as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Singapore having earlier hit $68,804.

Historically, a record market value “has been the more reliable price signal that a new phase of the current market is starting,” said David Lawant, head of research at crypto prime broker FalconX.

Demand from new US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, as well as a looming reduction in the token’s supply growth, have fueled recent gains. The ETFs from the likes of BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments have attracted more than $7 billion of net inflows since debuting on Jan. 11.

Speculative fervor has also returned more broadly in crypto, from heavily leveraged bets in derivatives markets to double-digit intraday advances in meme coins. That suggests the digital-asset market is potentially vulnerable to a reversal if the ETF flows start to moderate and optimism cools.