Bitcoin Captures $50K Position, BTC Market Capitalization Nears $1 Trillion

The price of bitcoin crossed the $50K zone on Monday, August 23, increasing close to 3% in the last 24 hours. The price has not been at this level in over two months and today, the crypto asset’s market capitalization is around $942 billion.

For the First Time Since April, Bitcoin Prices Rise Above $50K

Bitcoin (BTC) has managed to surpass the $50K zone and recently tapped a high of $50,662 per unit. The crypto asset’s overall market valuation is slowly nearing $1 trillion in value as it is currently at $942 billion.

$33.6 billion in global BTC swaps have taken place in the last 24 hours and bitcoin has gained 14.5% over the last two weeks. Seven-day statistics show BTC has gained more than 6% and year-to-date, the crypto asset has gained 329%.

Tether (USDT) is BTC’s top trading pair today with 57.9% of all bitcoin trades during the last 24 hours. This is followed by USD (13.16%), BUSD (5.61%), JPY (4.44%), EUR (3.19%), and KRW pairs (3.10%).

Some of the top bitcoin (BTC) exchanges today swapping the most BTC volume include Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, and Etoro. With bitcoin’s rise above the $50K handle, the crypto asset’s overall dominance of the $2.22 trillion in total crypto market cap is 42.3% today.

Crypto Prices See ‘Another Late-Week Surge’

Speaking with Etoro’s crypto-asset analyst Simon Peters, the analyst explained that Paypal’s recent entry into the U.K. may have bolstered the price.

“Bitcoin has broken out above $50,000 for the first time since May this year as Paypal announces crypto buying and selling in the UK,” Peters said in a note to Bitcoin.com News.

“Paypal has [delayed] its launch of crypto buying and selling in the UK for some time but has today announced its intention to allow UK-based users to buy and sell crypto tokens from this week,” the Etoro analyst continued. “Users will be able to hold a basket of four crypto assets – bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash, but it is unclear as of yet whether the firm will allow users to make payments in said cryptos.”

Peters further added:

The price of BTC has been on a rapid rebound since late July in what has been a rollercoaster ride for the crypto asset in 2021. [Bitcoin] began last week trading in the mid $46,000 range before trading down to $44,000 by Thursday. It has since staged another late-week surge, rising from a low of $44,177 to trading around $50,147 at the time of writing.

With BTC above $50K at the start of the week, traders and analysts will be watching to see what comes next. Some expect BTC to falter again, while many others believe that a ‘double bubble’ is due and BTC will surpass the $64K all-time high by the year’s end. Of course, no one knows what will happen, but the forecasts predicting the latter scenario seem to be coming to fruition if bitcoin prices keep moving northbound.

What do you think about bitcoin crossing the $50K zone again for the first time in months? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.