Skip to content
Monday 31 August 2026London --:--Frankfurt --:--Zurich --:--
NewslettersSearchEN · DE · FR
MorningWire

European business, markets and politics

FTSE 100
10,824.26
+0.29%
DAX
26,378.10
-0.72%
CAC 40
8,407.69
+0.08%
STOXX 50
6,466.83
-0.29%
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Regulation
  • Politics
  • Opinion
More
GermanyFranceEU InstitutionsCompetitionPublic AffairsBankingTechnologyEnergy
  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Regulation
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • DE
Wednesday 17 February 2021 12:00 pm  |  Updated:  Thursday 18 February 2021 4:14 pm

Will new all-time-high and a huge milestone spark even more interest in Bitcoin?

By: Crypto AM Daily with James Bowater | Crypto Insider

Add as a preferred source on Google
Crypto AM Daily, in association with Luno

Bitcoin sets yet another ATH sweeping through the psychological $50k level. Do all roads now lead to $200k?

Crypto at a glance

Well, it finally happened. After a weekend of casual flirting and premature announcements (it was Valentine’s Day, after all), Bitcoin finally and definitively broke through that all-important $50,000 landmark price and is currently still surging forward.

This is a huge psychological barrier to hit and could spark another fresh wave interest in the digital asset. It marks the third such advance in the past decade – a once-in-a-generation price movement. The million dollar question now for traders is whether $50,000 is just a check-in point on the way to even higher climbs? How long is it before $100,000 or even $200,000?

If you’re to believe the experts on Twitter, it may not be that long at all. And we’re not talking the usual rag-tag assortment of anonymous Tweeters. Bitcoin is getting attention from across the board, with experienced traders and mainstream media, bulls and sceptics, friends and neighbours alike predicting all-time highs – from Peter Brandt to Peter Schiff (who’d have thought?).

The signs are certainly positive, with adoption and institutional investment really still only in their embryonic stages and blooming more and more each day.

The next big check-in will be the $1 trillion market cap for Bitcoin – something the big institutional investors in particular will be watching out for. The price to watch out for here is $53,674, which is already well within reach.

It was a bit of a mixed bag elsewhere, with little movement for Ethereum, Cardano and XRP. DOT is back above $30, which is great for DOT. But this is Bitcoin’s big day, really.

Start your investment journey into crypto with Luno with £10 on us!

If you’ve not started your crypto journey yet, we’ve joined forces with Luno to offer you £10 absolutely free. Click on the logo below and simply use the code CITYAM10 when you sign up.

In the Markets

NamePricePrice Change (24h)Price Change (7 days) 
Bitcoin (BTC)$50,761.943.96%9.01% 
Ethereum (ETH)$1,795.490.21%0.53% 
XRP (Ripple)$0.52585.25%7.83% 
Monero (XMR)$242.277.24%38.50% 
Polkadot (DOT)$30.345.63%25.56% 
Algorand (ALGO)$1.287.48%25.42% 
Cardano (ADA)$0.85601.30%8.36% 
Chainlink (LINK)$31.242.97%12.36% 
Aave (AAVE)$426.066.00%21.86% 
UniSwap (UNI)$20.012.55%6.82% 
Celsius (CEL)$5.612.94%7.35% 
Stellar (XLM)$0.48153.14%17.96% 
     
Crypto market cap$1,521,433,053,208   
     
MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Large-Cap Index+4.67   
MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Small-Cap Index+3.02   
MVIS CryptoCompare Ethereum VWAP Close Index+1.57   
Prices and data as of [08:30, 17/02/2021]Source: CryptoCompare.com, MVIS   

The Bitcoin Economy

*Definitions and insights can be found at https://bytetree.com/insights/

What Bitcoin did yesterday…

We closed yesterday, February 16 2021, at a price of $49,199.87 – up from $47,945.06 the day before.

The daily high yesterday was $50,341.10, and the daily low was $47,201.30.

This time last year, the price of Bitcoin closed the day at $9,934.43. In 2019, it was $3,629.79.

As of today, buying Bitcoin has been profitable for…

99.9% of all days since 2013-04-28.

Bitcoin market capitalisation…

Bitcoin’s market capitalisation is currently $945,742,811,331, up from $913,878,522,299 yesterday. That makes it the eighth largest asset in the world by market cap, ahead of Tencent in ninth. Half a trillion dollars until it matches Google! To flip Google’s parent company, Alphabet, Bitcoin would have to be trading hands at $76,593. Is it that far off?

Bitcoin volume…

The volume traded over the last 24 hours was $82,875,877,323 – up from $72,819,434,394 yesterday. High volumes can indicate that a significant price movement has stronger support and is more likely to be sustained.

Volatility…

The price volatility of Bitcoin over the last 30 days is 85.34%.

Fear and Greed Index…

Market sentiment remains high, in Extreme Greed at 95.

Bitcoin’s market dominance…

Bitcoin’s market dominance is currently 63.02. Its lowest ever recorded dominance was 37.09 on January 8 2018.

Relative Strength Index (RSI)…

The daily RSI is currently 74.58. Values of 70 or above indicate that an asset is becoming overbought and may be primed for a trend reversal or experience a correction in price – an RSI reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold or undervalued condition.

How does the news really impact the market?

It’s been a week filled with bullish news for Bitcoin, but how did it impact the market? The market responded very positively to the news of Tesla’s $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin on Monday, with BTC soaring through its former ATH. Bitcoin climbed from $39,500 to $46,500 the following 24 hours – equalling a 24-hour return of 17.7%.

It was a slightly different story when the financial giants went to get involved, though there was still movement. On Wednesday February 10, Coindesk published an article stating that Mastercard would allow merchants to accept payments in crypto this year.

Mastercard later confirmed this story. In the following 24 hours, Bitcoin rose by 5.7%, from $45,250 to $47,834. Finally, BNY Mellon announced, on Thursday February 11, that they were to hold, transfer and issue Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset-management clients. In the following 24 hours, bitcoin climbed by 3.4%, from $46,100 to $47,700. Buy the news?

Bitcoin’s carbon footprint insignificant compared to the tech industry

Bitcoin’s climate footprint has once again gotten the attention of the media, but compared to other digital industries, Bitcoin’s climate footprint is still minuscule.

Digiconomist estimates BTC’s carbon footprint to 36.95 Mt CO2. To put this into context, BBC estimates the total tech sector’s emissions to be 1600 Mt CO2. In other words, bitcoin contributes to approximately 2.3% of the global emissions affiliated with digital tech.

So, why are we not paying attention to the digital tech industry’s emissions as a whole? The logical and forward-thinking path onwards is clearly to develop and focus on adding more renewable energy sources to the energy grid.

Convince your Nan: Soundbite of the day

“The more people that adapt it and use it as money, then the greater the chances of it perhaps being taken on board as a mainstream currency.”

  • Russ Mould, investment director of AJ Bell

What they said yesterday…

Unprecedented…

Big picture $BTC
Bitcoin is undergoing its third parabolic advance in the past decade. A parabolic advance on an arithmetic scale is extremely rare – three on a log scale is historic pic.twitter.com/fyyM5Ws6N5

— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) February 16, 2021

More to come?

Read more

US bond market jitters spark UK economy recession warning

Donald Trump delivering a speech at a podium during a formal event, emphasizing key points to an attentive audience.

Bitcoin is at $50,000 and the government is about to flood the market with another $1.9 trillion.

I wonder what is going to happen next…

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) February 16, 2021

More than price…

How does BTC help people?

Helped a single mother buy 2 #Bitcoin in 2019

Sent her the $50K price ticker and she cried on the phone because nobody in her family ever made 6 figures

She sold 1 and paid off college for her two boys + still has 1 BTC to HODL

THATS HOW

— Isaiah Jackson (@bitcoinzay) February 16, 2021

Even more satisfying than $50k? Being proved right…

Peter, please say #Bitcoin will never hit $1 million dollars. 😂 https://t.co/0hExSlJMM0

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) February 16, 2021

Crypto AM editor writes…

Markets respond after Bitcoin pierces $50,000 to reach new all-time-high

Markets respond after Bitcoin pierces $50,000 to reach new all-time-high

Breaking: Bitcoin smashes through $50,000

Breaking: Bitcoin smashes through $50,000

Crypto AM: Longer Reads

Morning Wire Markets: What is Decentralised Finance (DeFi) by Aave…

What is Decentralised Finance?

Crypto AM: Conversation with James Bowater…

Native tokens on Cardano

Crypto AM: Market View in association with Ziglu…

Bitcoin price tests $50,000 high as corporate adoption boosts legitimacy

Crypto AM: Technically Speaking in association with with Zumo…

Bitcoin + Gold = BOLD

Crypto AM: Talking Legal…

New report highlights lack of awareness on modern slavery in Fintechs

Crypto AM: Spotlight…

Crypto AM shines its Spotlight on BitcoinPoint.com

Crypto AM: Founders Series…

Why we built a better Tether

Crypto AM: Industry Voices…

This is just the beginning of the crypto revolution

Crypto AM: Deeper Dives…

Ledger customers exposed as personal data is leaked

Crypto AM: A Trader’s View with TMG…

Bitcoin culture in the mainstream?

Crypto AM: Tiptoe through the Crypto with Monty Munford…

Lockdown games are dangerous but very fun

Crypto AM: Definitively DeFi…

DeFi Bursts onto the Finance Scene – What is it and why does it matter?

Crypto AM: Recommended Events

CC Forum

Global Investment in Sustainable Development

March 31 2021 to April 1 2021 – Dubai

https://dubai.cc-forum.com

Global Technology Governance Summit

April 6 to 7 2021 – Tokyo

https://www.weforum.org/events/global-technology-governance-summit-2021

Cautionary Notes

It’s definitely tempting to get swept up in the excitement, but please heed these words of caution: Do your own research, only invest what you can afford, and make good decisions. The indicators contained in this article will hopefully help in this. Remember though, the content of this article is for information purposes only and is not investment advice or any form of recommendation or invitation. Morning Wire, Crypto AM and Luno always advise you to obtain your own independent financial advice before investing or trading in cryptocurrency.

All information is correct as of 08:30am GMT.

Read more

Reform sidelines crypto industry at pivotal conference

Nigel Farage and another man on stage discussing crypto and UK reform, with Bitcoin on screen.

Share this article

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Similarly tagged content:

Sections

  • Blockbeat

Trending Articles

  • Pensioners to hand over bank statements in government benefits crackdown

  • City firms mandate phone and face-to-face comms bootcamps for Gen Z lawyers

  • Jamie Carragher: HMRC petitions for Sky Sports star to be declared bankrupt

  • Jamie Vardy bags Bundesliga rights as he steps up streaming war with Neville and Lineker

  • Wine to buy this week: The very best Pinot Noir on the shelves

More from Morning Wire

  • US bond market jitters spark UK economy recession warning

    Economics
    Donald Trump delivering a speech at a podium during a formal event, emphasizing key points to an attentive audience.
  • Reform sidelines crypto industry at pivotal conference

    Politics
    Nigel Farage and another man on stage discussing crypto and UK reform, with Bitcoin on screen.
  • Ticket price hikes proof Wales Rugby Union is tone deaf to loyal fan concerns

    Sport Business
    Aerial view of Cardiff city, Principality Stadium, and surrounding buildings under a blue sky
  • IT consultant ordered to pay £50,000 after being accused of stealing Soho House members’ personal details

    Legal
    Soho House has continued to attract new members to its clubs.
  • Grandparents fund university degrees to avoid inheritance tax net

    Personal Finance
    GettyImages 452181854 showing a business conference with diverse professionals engaged in a panel discussion.
  • As it happened: FTSE 100 falls but Nasdaq soars after Nvidia sales boom

    FTSE 100 Live
    Smiling man with gray hair and glasses in a dark suit and blue tie, speaking at an event.
  • Can the Capital Access Window finally revive AIM?

    Markets
    Trader monitoring multiple computer screens displaying stock market data, charts, and financial figures.
  • ‘We have been ignored for most of our life,’ says FTSE 100’s newest bank

    Banking
    Confetti falls as executives celebrate Lion Finance Group joining the FTSE 100 at the London Stock Exchange.
MorningWire

Independent European business, markets and political news for decision-makers.

Morning Briefing

Europe

  • Germany
  • France
  • EU Institutions
  • Europe

Business

  • Markets
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Regulation
  • Competition
  • Public Affairs

Editorial

  • Opinion
  • Editorial Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Company

  • About Morning Wire
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Policy
© 2026 Morning Wire Ltd · Published by Morning Wire Media, Bahnhofstrasse 65, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Privacy · Terms · Cookies · Facebook