bitcoin just surpassed the $65,000 level. Here is a possible reason that may be contributing to this new bullish momentum for the asset.
bitcoin has moved even closer to a new high with its latest breakout
After consolidating near the $62,000 mark for a few days, bitcoin finally witnessed some uptrend in the past day as it not only returned to the previous high of $64,000 but also surpassed it to reclaim the $65,000 level.
The following chart reveals how the cryptocurrency has performed in recent days:
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium aligncenter" src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bitcoin-Surpasses-65000-Here39s-a-Reason" alt="bitcoin price chart” width=”1534″ height=”854″/>
Looks like the value of the asset has been sharply going up in the past day | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView
With returns of more than 5% in 24 hours, bitcoin is among the best performers in the market, with only Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) surpassing it within the list of top 10 coins by market capitalization.
Following this rally, btc has returned to the high seen in April 2021 and is now just 6% away from reaching the all-time high of $69,000 set in November 2021.
Now, a question that will surely be on investors' minds would be: what is driving this latest rise in the asset? Naturally, there are always several reasons that influence a rally like this, but one of the main ones would be institutional buying pressure.
btc Coinbase Premium Gap Has Been Positive Recently
As explained by CryptoQuant Netherlands community manager Maartunn in a mail At X, the btc Coinbase premium gap remained positive over the weekend.
The “Coinbase Premium Gap” is an indicator that tracks the difference between bitcoin prices listed on Coinbase (USD pair) and Binance (USDT pair). The value of this metric can tell us about the difference between buying (or selling) behaviors on the two platforms.
The following chart shows what the indicator looked like over the weekend:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone aligncenter" src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bitcoin-Surpasses-65000-Here39s-a-Reason.jpeg" alt="bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap” width=”4096″ height=”2580″/>
Looks like the indicator has been notably positive recently | Source: @JA_Maartun on X
From the chart, it is evident that the bitcoin Coinbase premium gap turned positive in the last few days of February and stayed that way in the first few days of this month. The positive values suggest that the price of btc listed on Coinbase has been higher than that of Binance.
The former exchange is known to be the preferred platform for US-based institutional entities, while the latter hosts global traffic. This would mean that a positive premium may suggest stronger buying pressure from American whales.
It is visible in the chart that Coinbase's high premium coincided with btc's initial surge above $60,000 late last month, implying that these institutional investors played a role.
High values of the indicator were also recorded this weekend, which may be the reason why bitcoin has experienced its latest rally. Given the pattern, Coinbase's premium gap could come under scrutiny in the coming days as large US traders continuing to buy could be a sign that btc is ready to rally.
Featured image from Shutterstock.com, CryptoQuant.com, Chart from TradingView.com
