The price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged on March 19 to break above the $28,000 zone, marking a 16% increase in value over the past 7 days, according to Cointelegraph MarketPro data.
At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency is trading at $28,063, up 2.4% over the past 24 hours. The price reached $28,459 at its highest point during the day, before trading at $26,877 during the day’s low.
Overall this week Bitcoin has gained over 37% against the US dollar. Bitcoin’s market capitalization added $194 billion in 2023, representing a 66% year-to-date gain, outpacing shares of Wall Street banks, especially as fears of a global banking crisis mount. Bitcoin is up about 65% versus the S&P 500’s 2.5% gain and the Nasdaq’s 15% drop in 2023.
US bank valuations have fallen amid ongoing fear surrounding regional banks in the country after events last week, including the closure of Silvergate, followed by the subsequent acquisition of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley. Bank by regulators.
Related: Bitcoin Levels to Watch as BTC Price Sees Highest Weekly Close in 9 Months
In Europe, Credit Suisse was acquired by UBS Group for almost $2 billion earlier in the day as part of emergency plans led by the Swiss authorities to preserve the country’s financial stability. As part of the deal, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has committed to providing over $100 billion in liquidity line to USB.
The $2 billion deal represents a sizable discount to Credit Suisse’s market value on March 17 of nearly $8 billion, according to Companies Market Cap data.
A looming global banking crisis could drive Bitcoin to $1 million in less than 90 days, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan claimed on Twitter. According to Srinivasan’s forecast, a banking crisis in the US would trigger deflation of the US dollar and thus a hyperinflation scenario leading to a Bitcoin price of $1 million. Srinivasan is betting $2 million on Twitter on his vision of the future of the US economy, as well as possible impacts on the value of Bitcoin.
