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Bitcoin Sailing in Uncharted Waters as Price Crosses $22K for First Time
Bitcoin is heading north, having blown past two price hurdles to reach another record all-time high.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:44 a.m. Published Dec 17, 2020, 3:11 a.m.
Bitcoin is heading north, having blown past two price hurdles to reach another record all-time high.
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At around 2:40 UTC Thursday, the price of the world's first cryptocurrency rose above $22,000 for the first time, having anchored at around $21,300 for a few hours during the early Asia trading hours, according to Bitstamp data.
The price of the bellwether cryptocurrency is changing hands for around $22,150 as of press time.
Bitcoin has ranged between $19,316 and $22,181 over a 24-hour period and appears seaworthy as statements about its price reaching six figures have ramped up in recent weeks.
The weather appears clear for bitcoin, according to analysts, who say a period of profit-taking is not yet on the horizon.
"$22,000 is a green flag on the way to the next psychological level at $25,000 and I would expect rapid movement and high volatility under the $25,000 range before year’s end," said Kenetic Capital CEO Jehan Chu. "As top managers like Guggenheim Partners and Alan Howard take major positions and force investors to justify not allocating to bitcoin, $22,000 is the ultimate lagging indicator of institutional interest."
Read more: Stampede of Bitcoin Buyers Pushed BTC Past $20K, Exchange Data Shows
Sell orders above $22,000 appear nowhere in sight, according to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, who spoke with CoinDesk via Telegram.
"Looking at order books on major exchanges, I can't find huge sell walls above $22,000 for now. Sell walls above $22,000 are so thin compared to $20,000 resistance," said Ju. "It's easy to break I would say."
Meanwhile, ether, has risen to $650 – new heights not seen since May 2018. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, XRP, is changing hands at around $0.57.
In traditional markets, the S&P 500 Index is up 0.18% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in the red, down 0.15% on the day.
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
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