Over $41,000: Bitcoin Continues to Forge New Highs

Another day, another record high for bitcoin’s price.

The top cryptocurrency printed a new peak price of $41,478 [updated 11:28 UTC] Friday, surpassing the lifetime high of $40,123 reached on Thursday, according to CoinDesk 20 data. Year-to-date gains are now over 40%.

Prices have more than doubled in less than a month in a move typical to bull market euphoria.

“Fundamentals have gone out the window and irrational exuberance may accelerate bitcoin past the $50k level ahead of the second schedule,” Jehan Chu, CEO at Hong Kong-based trading firm Kenetic Capital, told CoinDesk.

The price rally is backed by an uptick in the on-chain activity and increased accumulation by large investors. For instance, the number of active addresses has surged to a record high of 1,343,925, surpassing the previous peak seen in December 2017, according to data provider Glassnode.

Bitcoin’s rich list or the number of addresses holding at least 1,000 bitcoin has rebounded from the late-December dip to set a new lifetime high of 2,334.