The market capitalization of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has managed to reclaim the $500 billion mark, according to data provided by CoinMarketCap.
The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency has so far peaked at $26,533 on the Bitstamp exchange.
This is the first time that Bitcoin has touched the aforementioned price mark since July 2022.
The recent banking crisis in the US has helped to increase Bitcoin’s price as it is being seen as a safe haven asset.
Silicon Valley Bank’s recent collapse has been likened to the 2013 Cyprus crisis, underscoring the benefits of decentralized and censorship-resistant Bitcoin.
In response to the SVB implosion, the U.S. federal government has stepped in to guarantee customer deposits and announced emergency measures to ease fears of depositors withdrawing their money from smaller lenders.
On Friday, regulators also seized Signature Bank, which marked the third-biggest banking failure in U.S. history.
The market is also speculating that the current meltdown will also encourage the U.S. Federal Reserve to hit the breaks on interest rate hikes.
The Fed’s hawkish monetary policy was the main reason behind Bitcoin’s severe underperformance in 2022. The flagship cryptocurrency was acting as a typical risk-on asset together with other major assets.
It remains to be seen whether the most recent price spike is going to be sustainable. Jim Cramer, an esteemed CNBC host, recently recommended that traders sell Bitcoin after the most recent rally.
Yet, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes sees the crisis-induced rally as the start of another bull run.
While Bitcoin has managed to climb more than 18% over the past 24 hours, it is still down 62% from its all-time high of roughly $69,000 which was achieved in November 2021.
