Bitcoin surged more than 8% over the past 24 hours to briefly surpass $25,000 early Thursday as the cryptocurrency market flashed green. The move pushed Bitcoin to its highest levels since mid-August.
Bitcoin price jumped as high as $25,242 on Thursday before retreating slightly to its $24,530 level. That put the world's largest cryptocurrency at levels not seen since before the collapse of FTX in November.
Bitcoin Price Action Chart
Blockchain research provider Lookonchain noted that several funds and institutions poured nearly $1.6 billion into the crypto markets since Feb. 10. Most of those funds flowed from stablecoins to various exchanges. Circle's USD Coin made up a majority of the outflows, with most of the transfers coming from three digital wallet addresses.
Meanwhile, roughly $77 million in Bitcoin positions were liquidated in the prior 24 hours, according to cryptocurrency analytics site Coinglass. Of that, more than $66.4 million were short positions, leading to a short-squeeze boost in the price action.
On a macro scale, Bitcoin and Ethereum extended their gains slightly this week even after Tuesday's January CPI report showed persistent, but slowing, inflation.
On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that FTX is close to recovering another $400 million in misappropriated funds, after the purported self-dealing from Sam Bankman-Fried's bankrupt exchange sent shock waves through the industry. FTX disclosed they located about $5.5 billion of the $8 billion in missing customer assets through mid-January.
Bitcoin isn't the only crypto feeling the boost. Ethereum briefly hit $1,7140 Thursday morning, before sliding back under $1,675. The move marks the second time Ethereum surpassed $1,700 this month. The No. 2 crypto is also trading at its highest level since mid-September, prior to the early-November collapse of FTX.
COIN stock is up nearly 15% this week as the Coinbase exchange benefits from rising crypto prices. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital leapt 21% over the last five days. The Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF jumped more than 13.4% this week, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is up 11.6%.
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