Bitcoin’s price surged this weekend to surpass the $28,000 threshold, marking a 16% growth in the past week, with $28,459 marking its highest point. The threshold was crossed as the US Federal Reserve announced it would team up with other major central banks to ensure a steady flow of the US Dollar. In addition, bitcoin’s market cap has added $194 billion since the start of the year, yet another indicator of its positive performance in recent months. On Monday, bitcoin hovered just under the $28,000 mark, as investors are bracing before the US Central Bank’s next interest rate decision tomorrow.
Bitcoin has been outperforming a slew of traditional financial entities this year, as its 65% growth has massively outperformed the likes of the S&P 500 (a 2.5% increase) and NASDAQ (a 15% decline). This is an unsurprising development, given that bank valuations have been dropping for weeks, first following Silvergate’s shutdown, and then hitting panic mode as Signature and Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. In addition, just two days ago UBS agreed a $3.25bn rescue deal for rival Credit Suisse to ensure the preservation of the country’s economic stability.
It seems therefore, that a global banking crisis could end up benefiting bitcoin; indeed, a former Coinbase CTO sees such a crisis potentially leading bitcoin’s price to surpass the $1 million threshold in just a few months. The CEO of data aggregator Trustflation also added that “the bank runs we are seeing are also making it difficult to access gold, while fears of inflation and hyperinflation in some countries are all driving a flight to BTC.”