Bitcoin breaks $60K for first time since November 2021

The price of one bitcoin topped $60,000 on Wednesday for the first time since November 2021, when the world’s largest cryptocurrency hit its current record of nearly $67,000.

The boom is a massive turnaround from a year ago, when bitcoin kicked off 2023 below $20,000 and economists were anticipating a wider recession.

Bitcoin has rallied more than 40 percent in February alone, according to CoinDesk Indices, the largest monthly gain since late 2020. The price of bitcoin has more than doubled over the past four months.

The surge comes amid a huge infusion of cash, after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first ever U.S. spot exchange-traded funds in January, opening the door to billions in investment from financial institutions such as BlackRock.

Bitcoin dominates just more than half of the global crypto market, accounting for nearly $1.2 trillion of the more than $2.3 trillion in crypto in circulation around the world, according to the crypto data aggregator CoinGecko.

Even as the cryptocurrency industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, it remains to be seen whether Congress passes any comprehensive regulation on the exploding industry. 

Looming shutdown deadlines in the near-term, and the 2024 election in full swing leaves less time for legislating, even as crypto champions including House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), who is retiring at the end of the year, push for action they say will foster U.S. competitiveness and innovation in crypto.