Bitcoin Hits Another Record High of $94,900

The cryptocurrency market rallied on Wednesday, driven by optimism surrounding spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and their new options market.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed 3% over the past 24 hours to another all-time high of $94,900. Ethereum (ETH) was flat, while Solana (SOL) gained 1%.

On Nov. 19, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved the launch of spot Bitcoin ETF options, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) leading the charge. On its first day, IBIT options recorded nearly $2 billion in notional exposure traded through 354,000 contracts.

“Final tally of IBIT’s first day of options is just shy of $1.9 billion in notional exposure,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. “These options were almost certainly part of the move to the new Bitcoin all-time highs today.”

Comparing IBIT’s record debut to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which managed $363 million on its first day, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas commented, “$1.9 billion is unheard of for day one.”

Bitcoin’s Cyclical Trends

Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Research, shared insights on Bitcoin's potential peak during its current cycle. He explained that Bitcoin's price typically follows a four-year cycle tied to halving events, which reduce mining rewards and historically drive price increases. The last halving in April 2024 suggests a peak could occur between late 2024 and mid-2025.

Lee also highlighted the Pi Cycle Top Indicator, known for accurately predicting Bitcoin peaks using moving averages, and suggested Bitcoin could hit prices between $118,928 and $150,000 during this cycle.

“Market sentiment and technical analysis present a different outlook, suggesting that Bitcoin may reach a new high within 6-9 months after a mid-cycle peak, which is estimated to occur around early 2024,” Lee said.

Over the past 24 hours, $315 million of leveraged positions were liquidated, impacting 114,025 traders. Notably, $195 million of the liquidations came from long positions, per data from CoinGlass.