Bitcoin soars to new record high of $69,202

Bitcoin has finally broken through its 2021 record high after surging past $69,000 on Tuesday, fuelled by strong demand for US listed exchange-traded funds and a fear of missing out (Fomo) on the digital coin's halving in April.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency hit $69,202, eclipsing its record high of $68,991.85 set in November 2021.

The price record was short-lived, however, and the digital token has pared back those gains to settle at $66.978.12 as of 7.30pm UAE time.

“The coin’s price is rising exponentially … and the strength of the rally makes us think that there is rising Fomo aiming the $100,000 mark,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said in a research note this week.

So far this year, the digital token has jumped 57.77 per cent to reach a market capitalisation of $1.31 trillion, as inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs accelerated. The total market cap of the cryptocurrency sector is up 5.7 per cent at $2.64 trillion.

Bitcoin's record high in 2021 occurred shortly before inflation and interest rates took off during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In November 2022, the cryptocurrency plummeted below $16,000 as the sector entered a “crypto winter”, resulting in the collapse of platforms including Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX.

The collapse of FTX, once valued at $32 billion, is the highest-profile cryptocurrency exchange failure to date, after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue deal.

However, in January, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the country's first spot Bitcoin ETFS, clearing the way for them to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Cboe Global Markets and the Nasdaq.

The approval marked a key moment for the cryptocurrency sector, ushering in a regulated path for institutional and retail investor participation in the cryptocurrency asset class - and signalling the end of the sector's “Wild West” era.

The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs offered by major asset management companies including BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and Cathie Wood’s ARC.

Bitcoin ETFs are similar to traditional ETFs – a low-fee basket of securities consisting of stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets that track global markets – but the digital token is the underlying asset.

“From a fundamental perspective, the price surge makes sense. Supply is limited, demand is surging, hodlers [hold on for dear lifers] aren’t willing to sell and the arrival of Bitcoin ETFs made the asset class more investable for big players,” Ms Ozkardeskaya said.

“Spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed $6 billion since their inception, and BlackRock’s ETF saw a whopping $520 million inflows in a single day. It was apparently the second-biggest inflow into a US ETF, all asset classes included.”

The expected Bitcoin halving in April, when the amount paid to miners is slashed in a preprogrammed move every four years to reduce supply and maintain its scarcity value, is adding to the current rally that has extended to other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Solana and meme coins such as Shiba Inu.

Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, is currently trading at $3,797.51, its highest price since January 2022, Solana is up 6.12 per cent at $139.99 while Shiba Inu, a favourite of Elon Musk, is leading the meme coin revival after jumping 29.94 per cent to trade at 0.00003743.

“According to past cycles, there is a possibility that Bitcoin will experience further growth to reach a peak within six months to a year and a half after halving, and Ethereum may follow suit with a breakthrough,” said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.

“With the entry of leading mainstream financial institutions, it can be anticipated that collective market forces will drive Ethereum to achieve a historical high in 2024, surpassing $4,900.”

During an interview with The National in June last year, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, forecast that Bitcoin could reach as high as $500,000.

“Our bull case for Bitcoin is that it will disrupt gold,” Tyler Winklevoss said at the time.

“If you do the maths on 21 million in the supply of Bitcoin, the market cap of gold, let us say it is $10 trillion, maybe it is $11 [trillion], somewhere in that ballpark, that puts one Bitcoin – if it disrupts gold, and gets that market cap – at $500,000.”

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday

Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)

Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)

Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)

Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)

Sunday

VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)

if you go

It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus

To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.

The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.

SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.

But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.

How our nine-month-old has made the Canadian winter a little bit warmer for us

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Don Cherry and the real issue with being one of 'you people'

While you're here

Sulaiman Hakemy: Why it's important to lose elections

Rashmee Roshan Lall: US race relations in three words

Michael Goldfarb: First debate marks the end of an era

Company%20profile

%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3

Inside Palestine-Israel

Saeb Erakat: Palestine can overcome coronavirus

Michael Young: The issue with Israel's 'iron wall'

Michael Young: What Israel's divisions mean for Arabs

COMPANY%20PROFILE

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

What it means to be a conservationist

Who is Enric Sala?

Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.

What is biodiversity?

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.

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How to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

Five expert hiking tips

Always check the weather forecast before setting off

Make sure you have plenty of water

Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon

Wear appropriate clothing and footwear

Take your litter home with you

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.