Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High Above $35K

Bitcoin bulls pushed the leading cryptocurrency to fresh all-time highs above $35,000 Tuesday night after a couple days of choppy price action kept traders guessing which direction the market would head next. The price is rising, and fast.

• Bitcoin jumped nearly 12% Tuesday to top the previous record high of $34,544.94 set this past Sunday after a dizzying climb over the New Year's weekend. After setting that mark, however, the price of bitcoin bounced between $32,500 and $34,500 followed by a swift drop to $28,000 with losses pared nearly just as quickly.
• Bitcoin set a new all-time high of $35,106, just as this post was going live.
• Throughout this price action, cryptocurrency traders starting cutting leveraged positions across the board, according to estimates calculated by cryptocurrency data provider CryptoQuant. Taking to Twitter, CEO Ki Young Ju said the change signaled traders were "uncertain" and "scared" about the markets "next move."
• With fresh record highs, the market's direction seems a bit more clear.
• "It's rather simple I think," said Matt Kaye, managing partner at Santa Monica-based Blockhead Capital, talking to CoinDesk about bitcoin's price action. "There are more spot buyers than spot sellers going into a year that is likely going to transform U.S. fiscal policy for the next decade."
• Bitcoin's latest surge comes as results from the Senate runoff election in Georgia are coming in. Some are speculating a Democrat-controlled Congress could exacerbate current inflation concerns shared by many bitcoin investors.
• Bitcoin has gained more than 20% so far in January following its more than 300% gain in 2020, driven largely by an influx of institutional investment.