Markets
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Surges Above $66,000 Amid CrowdStrike Global Outage; Solana (SOL) Hits $170
Cryptocurrency rally resumed Friday with bitcoin (BTC) reaching its highest price in a month as the world grappled with a major computer outage.
BTC started to rise from $64,000 in the early hours of US trading and surpassed $67,000 later in the day for the first time since June 17. The price increase was accompanied by large trading volumes for BlackRock’s Bitcoin Spot ETF (IBIT). At press time, the largest crypto asset was changing hands just above $67,000, up 5.5% in the past 24 hours.
Solana (GROUND) The token led major altcoins with an 8.5% increase over the same period, surpassing $170 for the first time since early June. The token outperformed the broad-based digital asset benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which increased by 4.3%.
Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) reclaimed the $3,500 level, but underperformed with a 3% increase. The first spot-based ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States will likely begin trading next Tuesday, Friday regulatory filings by Cboe showed.
Cryptocurrencies fell earlier this week, in line with the decline in U.S. stocks. However, Friday’s rise came as major stock indices continued their losing streak.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.8%, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index was down 0.6% as of 1 p.m. ET, while gold fell more than 2% on the day after hitting a new record high earlier in the week.
As a software update from cybersecurity service provider CrowdStrike caused widespread computer outages around the world, disrupting airlines, banks and businesses, some crypto observers highlighted the resilience of decentralized systems like public blockchains compared to centralized networks.
Charles Edwards, founder of crypto hedge fund Capriole Investments, noted bitcoin’s rapid rise coinciding with the traditional U.S. market open, perhaps a sign of bidding by institutional investors.
“Did an institution just wake up and decide that Bitcoin is a decentralized safe haven while the world’s technology and banking systems fail because of Microsoft’s blue screen of death?” he said. published on X.
Longer term, bitcoin is trading around the midpoint of a multi-month sideways channel between $56,000 and $73,000. Spot prices could remain range-bound in the near term, but traders are increasingly positioning for a breakout to new all-time highs ahead of the November U.S. election, digital asset hedge fund QCP said in a market update. QCP analysts noted strong demand for December $100,000 bitcoin call options from institutions.
Mads Eberhardt, crypto analyst at Steno Research, Express a bullish outlook for the second half of the year for crypto assets, supported by multiple tailwinds including upcoming interest rate cuts in the US, increasing liquidity, regulatory clarity in Europe and increasing chances of more crypto-friendly US leadership.
“Bitcoin at $100,000. Ethereum at $6,500,” he said. said about its price targets.
Update (July 19, 20:25 UTC): Updated title and article with latest prices. Added paragraph with Ether (ETH) price and CBOE deposit on spot ETF trading.