Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High Above $28.5K; Bulls Back in the Driver's Seat

After seeming to take a couple of days to catch its breath following its record-setting run over the weekend, the price of bitcoin BTC$66,461.12 once again resumed its torrid upward pace, setting a new all-time high $28,579.59 early Wednesday morning.

• BTC topped the previous high-water mark of $28,352.63 set less than 72 hours earlier, before dropping back to $27,772.99, up 4.14% in the last 24 hours. The price of BTC has risen more than 295% year to date.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).
• With the end of the year looming, some fund managers may also be buying BTC so they can brag next year about being smart enough to get in in 2020 while neglecting to say at which price they had done so.
• In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon, trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic as U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to pass an even bigger relief package to allow for larger stimulus checks. These actions are viewed by many as potential catalysts for inflation and bad for the U.S. dollar, both of which could be positive for BTC.

See also: Bitcoin Tops $28K for 1st Time, Hours After Crossing $27K; Market Cap Now Exceeds $500B

UPDATE (Dec. 30, 8:51 UTC): Adds latest price activity.