Bitcoin hits new record above $71,000

Continuing its crazy ride, bitcoin reached a new record on Monday at more than $71,000, demand for this cryptocurrency having jumped thanks to the prospects of lower interest rates in the United States in the coming months. The price of bitcoin rose to $71,829 in the morning in London. The digital currency had already touched several records last week, crushing that of November 2021, which was 68,991 dollars.

The new peak on Monday comes “against a context of weakening of the US dollar” after the publication of “a mixed set of employment data in the United States on Friday”, notes James Harte, analyst at Tickmill. The unemployment rate in the United States thus climbed in February to 3.9%, its highest level since January 2022. The strengthening of expectations of American rate cuts weakens the greenback as well as the yields of American Treasury bills, competing assets, which makes bitcoin more attractive in comparison for investors, notes Neil Wilson, an analyst at the company Finalto.

And if the American economic outlook remains generally favorable, it is also possible that the market "is concerned about the way in which debt continues to accumulate, particularly in the United States", estimates Russ Mold of AJ Bell. This encourages investors to turn to alternative assets like gold – which reached a new all-time high on Friday, at $2,195 – or bitcoin, he explains. The price of bitcoin has jumped nearly 70% since the start of the year, a spectacular rise after the collapse of prices following the collapse of several giants in the sector at the end of 2022.

Also read: Bitcoin hits a new historic record, is now the time to invest?

The main cryptocurrency by capitalization, bitcoin had seen its value soar to new historic records in recent days, driven by the authorization in the United States last January of the sale of a new type of investment product which follows the price bitcoin. On Monday, the watchdog of the British markets, the FCA, gave the green light to the listing of securities backed by cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom, but only for “professional investors”. For Neil Wilson, of Finalto, the arrival on the market of the new fund in the United States remains the “catalyst” for the rise in the price of bitcoin because it “means that investors can access it easily”.

The market is also anticipating “halving”, a technical phenomenon which consists of halving the bitcoin reward granted to bitcoin “miners” – those who contribute to the creation of the blockchain. blocks by validating transactions. The halving takes place approximately every four years, and the next one should take place in April. By reducing the amount of bitcoins available for purchase, this phenomenon should strengthen the value of bitcoins.