By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – Bitcoin was trading around $65,200 on Thursday morning, just below the all-time high hit on Wednesday near $67,000. The successful launch of the first Bitcoin Futures ETF has helped propel the world’s largest cryptocurrency to its record high, after previously notching its peak in April this year.
The previous record coincided with the IPO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and some analysts had been forecasting a scenario where the launch of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE:BITO) would see some profit-taking. However, for now, Bitcoin remains elevated and there are little signs of a large-scale correction.
Altcoins join the party
The recent rally in Bitcoin has seen its market-capitalisation rise above $1.23 trillion, however, most of the other major altcoins have struggled to reach their recent record highs.
Ethereum, which previously hit a record high in May, has now also shown signs of reaching its previous peak and is up over 7.5% in the last 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies with Decentralised Finance (DeFi) applications and smart contracts, such as Solana and Cardano, have also shown signs of life as they trade higher by 19% and 8%, respectively.
Solana’s impressive rally has seen it overtake XRP and become the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Solana now trades at its highest level since 11th September.
Bitcoin – Where to next?
With Bitcoin now trading around its all-time high, technical levels to the upside are few and far between.
To the downside, support is seen around $63,700-$64,350 before the psychological $63,000 level.
However, despite today’s slight pullback from its record high, the momentum in Bitcoin appears to be very much to the upside and OANDA Senior Market Analysts Jeffrey Halley thinks the technical picture remains “very bullish”.
“Only a fall through $59,000 changes the positive outlook and I continue to target further gains to $80,000,” Halley said.