The price of Bitcoin (BTC) briefly hit an all-time high before quickly falling nearly 10% in volatile trading.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization hit a record high of $69,202 U.S., topping its previous all-time high of $68,999.99 U.S. reached in November 2021.
However, after touching the new all-time high, Bitcoin’s price quickly plunged, falling as much as 10% before recovering somewhat to trade around $63,000 U.S.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $67,000 U.S. having risen 5% in overnight action. Unlike stocks, cryptocurrencies trade around the clock, seven days a week.
A rally in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has accelerated since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the American marketplace.
Since last October, Bitcoin's price has risen nearly 160%, with 44% of that gain coming in February of this year.
Inflows to the 10 largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $2.2 billion U.S. in the week ended March 1, according to market data.
Bitcoin is also catching tailwinds from the prospect of lower interest rates and an upcoming halving event in April, which is when the rate at which Bitcoins are released, and the rewards given to miners, are cut in half.