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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Surges Above $66K Amid Global CrowdStrike Outage; Solana (SOL) Hits $170
Cryptocurrency rally resumed on Friday with bitcoin (BTC) hitting its highest price in nearly a month as the world grappled with a major computer disruption.
BTC surged above $66,000 during early hours of US trading, hitting a session high of $66,700 during the afternoon hours for the first time since June 17. The price surge was accompanied by strong trading volumes for BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF (IBIT). At press time, the largest crypto asset was trading around $66,500, up 4% over the past 24 hours.
Solana (SOL) led among major altcoins with an 8.5% increase over the same period, surpassing $170 for the first time since early June. The token has outpaced the large-scale digital asset benchmark CoinDesk Index 20 (CD20), up 4.3%.
Cryptocurrencies slipped lower earlier this week in tandem with a sell-off in U.S. stocks. However, Friday’s rally came as major stock indexes continued their losing streak.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.6% as of 1 p.m. ET, while gold fell more than 2% on the day after hitting a new all-time high earlier in the week.
As a software update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike has caused widespread cyber outages around the world, shutting down airlines, banks and businesses, some Encrypt observers He highlighted the resilience of decentralized systems such as public blockchains compared to centralized networks.
Charles Edwards, founder of cryptocurrency hedge fund Capriole Investments, noted the rapid growth of bitcoin as the traditional U.S. market opened, perhaps a sign of offers from institutional investors.
“Did some institution just wake up and decide that Bitcoin is a safe haven and decentralized store of value while global technology and banking systems fail due to Microsoft’s blue screen of death?” he said. published on X.
Looking at a longer time frame, bitcoin is trading near the midpoint of a multi-month sideways channel between $56,000 and $73,000. Spot prices may be capped in the near term, but traders are increasingly positioning themselves for a breakout to new all-time highs ahead of the U.S. election in November, 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 Eberhart, cryptocurrency analyst at Steno Research, expressed a bullish second-half view for cryptocurrencies, supported by multiple tailwinds, including upcoming U.S. interest rate cuts, rising liquidity, regulatory clarity in Europe, and the growing possibility of more crypto-friendly U.S. leadership.
“Bitcoin at $100,000. Ethereum at $6,500,” he said She said on its price targets.