Bitcoin hits new ATH surpassing $1.6T market cap

Bitcoin has been hitting new all-time highs over the past week as the crypto market recorded strong bullish sentiment after GOP candidate Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential elections.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 18% over the past week and is up 3% in the past 24 hours. The leading cryptocurrency reached an ATH of $81,858 earlier today — currently trading at $81,000 following a mild correction.

Thanks to the consistent gains, the BTC market cap surpassed the $1.6 trillion mark. Its daily trading volume also doubled, reaching $92 billion. Bitcoin’s market dominance is hovering at 55.4% at the time of writing.

The so-called digital gold became the ninth-largest asset as it overtook Meta’s $1.48 trillion market value.

Bitcoin’s rally triggered bullish sentiment among digital asset investors, pushing the broader market close to the 2021 highs. According to data provided by CoinGecko, the global crypto market cap increased by 3% over the last day and is sitting above the $2.9 trillion mark.

This level hasn’t been seen since mid-November 2021.

Data from CoinGecko shows that the total crypto trading volume grew by 80% and is currently hovering at $306 billion. This shows increased interest from market participants.

Why is Bitcoin rising?

The Bitcoin and market-wide rally started after Trump overtook Vice President Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential elections as the community called him the “first pro-crypto U.S. president.”

Trump’s win acted as a major catalyst for the crypto market, triggering the fear of missing out, also called FOMO, among digital currency investors.

With Bitcoin breaking its March ATH of $73,000, short liquidations started to increase. According to data from Coinglass, the total crypto liquidations reached $630 billion in the past 24 hours. 

Bitcoin, alone, saw $121 million in liquidations — $38 million longs and $83 million short — per Coinglass data. Historically, short liquidations initiate upward momentum and investors would usually expect high volatility.

The increased trading volume also adds to the market-wide volatility as the prices have been rising along with the election trend. Consequently, a potential correction would be expected.

According to data from IntoTheBlock, whales accumulated almost 32,000 BTC on Nov. 10. As the chart shows, the large holder activity has been moving in the same direction as the BTC price since Nov. 6, the election day.

The sudden surge in Bitcoin’s whale accumulation also suggests FOMO among market participants.