Bitcoin Hits New 2023 High at $26,386, Surging 35% in Just 4 Days

The world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has made a spectacular comeback after last week’s negative news, setting a new high for 2023.

Price Movements of Top Cryptocurrencies as of 08:10 PM on March 14, 2023. Source: Coin360

On the evening of March 14, the U.S. released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February 2023, a key measure of inflation for the world's largest economy. As anticipated by economists, U.S. inflation for February came in at 6%, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline.

This news triggered a surge in Bitcoin (BTC), which spiked to $26,386, marking a new peak for 2023 and the highest level since June 2022.

4-hour Chart of BTC/USDT on Binance as of 08:10 PM on March 14, 2023

Just four days ago, on March 10, BTC was languishing around $19,500 due to a series of negative events impacting the market, including:

• Fed Chair signaling that target interest rates might be higher than expected
• Silvergate Bank announcing it was halting operations
• New York authorities accusing ETH of being a security and suing KuCoin
• Biden administration proposing a 30% tax on electricity used for crypto mining
• Voyager discovered selling assets, with the U.S. Department of Justice opposing its sale to Binance.US
• Speculation about the U.S. government moving 9,861 BTC to Coinbase

Additionally, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 caused the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, to depeg significantly, adding pressure on BTC’s price.

By March 12, Circle confirmed it would take all necessary measures to cover the shortfall, including using company assets or even raising funds. During this period, USDC recovered to $0.96.

Early on March 13, the U.S. government intervened to prevent a broader banking crisis, pledging to fully reimburse depositors at Silicon Valley Bank, including Circle. This intervention allowed the crypto market to rebound strongly, with BTC reaching $22,600 and USDC returning to its peg of $1.

With these recent developments, Bitcoin has recorded a 35% increase over the past 96 hours, equivalent to over $6,800 in value.

Ethereum (ETH) also saw a nearly 11% rise to $1,765, marking a new 2023 high and the highest value since September 2022.

4-hour Chart of ETH/USDT on Binance as of 08:10 PM on March 14, 2023

Most large-cap altcoins have also increased by 5-10% in line with BTC’s rise. The total market capitalization has surged to $1.12 trillion, recovering strongly from $930 billion at the end of last week.

In the past 4 hours, more than $128 million in derivatives were liquidated, with $116 million coming from the recent pump over the last hour. Nearly 92% of these liquidations were short positions.

Value of Liquidated Cryptocurrencies in the Past 4 Hours, Data from Coinglass as of 08:10 PM on March 14, 2023