On Wednesday, Bitcoin resumed its upward trend following a slight decline from its peak, which was reached in less than a day, as investors continued to place bets on the biggest cryptocurrency in the world.

During the Asian session, Bitcoin saw a 5% increase and reached an intraday height of $66,540 in erratic trading, not too distant off the record high of $69,202 on Tuesday. At $65,946, it was recently 4% higher.

The digital currency has experienced a spectacular rise, up 55% so far this year, driven by investors flooding U.S. spot exchange-traded crypto products with cash and the possibility of a decline in global interest rates.


Lennix Lai, global chief business officer of cryptocurrency exchange OKX, stated that the surge is supported by ETF traffic and a view that includes an Ethereum upgrade and a bitcoin "halving," which decreases the rate at which bitcoin is being mined.

"The trend also indicates an elevated level of mainstream acceptance of bitcoin, perhaps more than ever before."

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of eleven spot bitcoin ETFs in late January was a turning point for the industry after an 18-month crypto winter marred by many high-profile firm bankruptcies and scandals.

Due to the token's abrupt and erratic movements, institutional investors who previously avoided it have started to commit long-term capital as well, which analysts believe could support the most recent leg of the surge.
 

The current euphoria around bitcoin has also affected its competitors, as seen by the fact that ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has increased by more than 60% year to date.

At $3,750, it was recently 6.4% higher.

However, some claim it's difficult to ignore these assets' speculative nature. Tuesday saw bitcoin reach a record high, but it quickly reversed direction and dropped more than 10% below the $60,000 mark.

"It appears to be the typical behavior of bitcoin: it consumes you and then releases you," stated Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.

"A pump and dump to previous record highs wiped out some weaker hands, and I suspect we're now in the volatile and erratic phase we usually see when it reaches a record high."