All eyes will now be on Sunday's weekly close — and if Bitcoin secures gains of 13.5% or more, a new record for 2022 will have been set.
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Bitcoin is on the brink of securing its biggest weekly gain so far this year.
The world's biggest cryptocurrency has surged by 12.76% over the past seven days, CoinMarketCap data shows.
All eyes will now be on Sunday's weekly close — and if Bitcoin secures gains of 13.5% or more, a new record for 2022 will have been set.
BTC is trading at $21,600 at the time of writing, and briefly cracked $22,000 for a few hours in the early hours of Friday morning.
It comes amid growing confidence that the worst of the dramatic sell-offs in the crypto market may now be over, with prices starting to stabilize.
Bitcoin has been dusting itself off after suffering nine consecutive red weekly candles — plummeting to lows of $17,708.62.
Nerves over the drama engulfing the Celsius Network also led to a further two punishing weeks in June. Prices plunged 11.02% in the 23rd week of the year, followed by a jaw-dropping 22.85% loss in the 24th week, Coinglass data shows.
Crypto enthusiasts can take some comfort in the fact that BTC currently remains above the psychologically significant threshold of $20,000 — a figure that coincides with the high watermark set during the 2017 bull run.
Bloomberg's Mike McGlone — traditionally a bullish voice when it comes to crypto analysis — believes BTC could turn a corner in the second half of the year. On Wednesday, he tweeted:
"Bitcoin could be one of the greatest bull markets in history at a relatively discounted price to start 2H. Or the crypto may be a failing experiment in the process of being made redundant, like crude oil. Our bias is Bitcoin adoption is more likely to continue rising."
There are some clouds on the horizon. Celsius Network, which recently received 21,962 Wrapped Bitcoin after paying off a loan with Maker Protocol, has reportedly transferred these funds to FTX — sparking fears that mass sell-offs could be on the horizon as the embattled crypto lender tries to raise liquidity and honor withdrawal obligations.
Meanwhile, 141,686 BTC held by the doomed crypto exchange Mt. Gox is on the brink of being returned to customers — more than eight years after 850,000 BTC was lost in a devastating hack.
There are fears that some affected customers could end up dumping the Bitcoin they receive, pushing down prices. This fall could then spark further sell-offs.
