Bitcoin price breaches $30,000 on Binance, three catalysts power mega rally

Bitcoin price rallied past $30,000 on Wednesday, in the largest short squeeze in June. The largest asset by market capitalization climbed 12% from Tuesday’s low to $30,000, overnight. BTC’s move liquidated over $82.67 million in short positions according to Coinglass data. This marks the largest volume of shorts liquidated since May 2023.

The asset is less than a year away from its next halving event and bullish drivers in the ecosystem, like institutional adoption are fueling a recovery in Bitcoin. The break past $30,000 confirmed a bullish trend reversal in Bitcoin, after weeks of price decline in response to the regulatory crackdown.

 Also read: Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ethereum Classic reap gains from Bitcoin rally

Bitcoin price breaches $30,000 milestone on Binance

Bitcoin has rallied nearly 12.29% this week, ending its two-month long downtrend and breaking past $30,000, for the first time since April 2023. The bullish breakout has opened doors for BTC to rally towards $35,000, a target set by market analyst @tedtalksmacro. 

BTC/USD one day price chart on Binance

The move by the largest cryptocurrency is a key bullish signal that confirms the shifting sentiment in the crypto ecosystem. The 24-hour Bitcoin trade volume on Binance breached $30.29 billion, as the asset hit a new milestone on June 21.

As seen in the BTC/USD 1-day price chart, the asset is currently trading above its three Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), 10, 50 and 200-day. At the time of writing, BTC is exchanging hands at $30,010. The next key resistance for Bitcoin price is the April 2023 high of $31,166. 

There are three catalysts that are likely driving these gains in BTC, alongside crypto adoption and regulation across European Union nations and Southeast Asian countries like Singapore.

Institutional interest in Bitcoin peaked with giants applying for spot ETFs

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, announced the filing of its Bitcoin spot Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on June 15. Two large investment firms, WisdomTree and Invesco, followed in the giant’s footsteps and filed similar applications, as of June 21.

An ETF invests in crypto investment products offered by asset managers like Grayscale or futures and options. Prices of these products are linked to the performance of cryptocurrencies. While the US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has never approved a spot Bitcoin ETF till date, the series of filings by asset management giants signals an uptick in interest from their institutional or corporate clients.

This interest from financial institutions has acted as a catalyst, driving Bitcoin price higher in the short term.

The second catalyst is Bitcoin halving, a key event associated with BTC price rallies every four years. 

Bitcoin halving is less than a year away, traders are gearing up for a new BTC cycle

Experts consider halving events key to Bitcoin’s price trend. Every halving slashes the associated reward for miners by half and the scarcity of mined BTC is considered a driver of the asset’s price rally.

It is typically believed that halving events drive price rallies in Bitcoin and this has emerged as a trend over the past three halving events. 

Bitcoin past three halving events and the upcoming fourth halving timeline

Based on the above chart from Blockchain Center, the upcoming Bitcoin halving in 2024 is expected to drive BTC price to a new all-time high, between the $60,000 and $100,000 range. Nicehash.com’s countdown timer reveals that Bitcoin is 338 days away from its halving event and the tentative date is May 25, 2024.

The third catalyst is the launch of cryptocurrency exchange platforms by giants from traditional finance. 

Giants Charles Schwab, Fidelity and Citadel Securities join hands to launch crypto exchange

EDX Markets, a crypto exchange platform backed by financial giants from the traditional finance industry has listed cryptocurrencies available for trade on its exchange. The giants’ plan was to roll out the non-custodial exchange in September 2022, however the regulatory uncertainty and tumultuous events like FTX exchange collapse resulted in a long wait.

Within days following BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF filing, the exchange platform’s announcement shows that long-term institutional interest in cryptocurrencies has sustained in the US.

EDX has listed Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) among cryptocurrencies that can be traded on the platform. It's important to note that none of these assets have been labeled as securities by the SEC. 

Bullish targets for Bitcoin price rally

In light of the three catalysts, an expert @tedtalksmacro shared his targets for BTC price with his 105,500 followers on Twitter. The analyst argues that the first target is $35,000 and it is back in play with the recent developments in crypto. The second target according to the expert’s prediction is $46,500. 

BTC/USD one week price chart on Coinbase

The analyst notes that the Bitcoin price rally gained acceptance when BTC climbed above the $24,500 hurdle. This signaled that market participants have accepted the BTC price rally above August 2022 highs. BTC continued its climb breached the $30,000 target. The next hurdle is the $35,000 level, previously breached in April 2022.