Bitcoin breaks $70,000 in volatile trade, hitting new record high

Price of bitcoin jumped to a new high on Friday, breaking $70,000 for the first time.

The cryptocurrency gave back gains from the surge and was last down more than 1% at $66,943.70, according to Coin Metrics. However, at one point it rose to $70,170.00, surpassing its previous record set on Tuesday.

The sharp move started around the time the US stock market opened. With the introduction of spot bitcoin exchange traded funds in the US, major cryptocurrencies are now typically transacted during traditional exchange trading hours.

The early advance may have been spurred in part by investors weighing February’s jobs report — hoping that a higher unemployment rate and lower-than-initially reported employment growth in December and January would clear the way for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates later this year.

However, crypto trading has been particularly volatile this week. After bitcoin hit a new record Tuesday for the first time in more than two years, it quickly tumbled as much as 10%, dragging other cryptocurrencies and crypto stocks down with it, before recovering much of those losses the next day. The bitcoin historical volatility index is at its highest level in almost a year, according to TradingView.

“Navigating old highs is extremely difficult, and Bitcoin’s dam doesn’t tend to burst at the first ask,” said Antony Trenchev, co-founder of crypto exchange Nexo. “The sharp selloff in Bitcoin on Tuesday was healthy, necessary and a prelude to further gains. Volatility defines Bitcoin bull markets and 2024 will be littered with sudden and jarring 10%-20% declines.”