Bitcoin nears $90K, stages best weekly return since US banking crisis

Bitcoin’s rally shows no signs of slowing as it edges toward $90,000 in what is shaping up to be its best weekly run since the United States banking crisis in 2023.

The Bitcoin (BTC) price surpassed the $85,000 record high on Nov. 11, but just as a temporary pit stop. The world’s first cryptocurrency is trading at $88,879 as of 8:14 am UTC, up over 29% during the past week, Cointelegraph data shows.

BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph

The nearly 30% weekly return marks Bitcoin’s best seven-day period since the US banking crisis in 2023, according to Vetle Lunde, the head of research at K33 Research, who wrote in a Nov. 12 X post:

“Bitcoin has seen its best 7-day return since the U.S. banking crisis on March 18, 2023. Bitcoin’s market cap has grown by a staggering $413bn in the past week!”

*BTC, seven-day market cap change. Source: Vetle Lunde*

The March 2023 banking crisis brought the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the voluntary liquidation of Silvergate Bank. Signature Bank was also forced to close operations by New York regulators on March 12, two days after Silvergate’s liquidation.

This turmoil was a catalyst for Bitcoin’s bull run last year, according to BitMEX co-founder and former CEO Arthur Hayes.

Related: 63 US banks on the brink of insolvency: Why Bitcoin’s next target is $100K

Bitcoin price on track to $1M due to Trump’s quantitative easing: Hayes

Bitcoin has been on a tear since Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential elections, inspiring more risk-on appetite as investors anticipate more business and innovation-friendly regulations in the world’s largest economy.

Notably, Trump’s economic policy could push Bitcoin’s price past the $1 million mark, according to Hayes, who wrote in a Nov. 12 blog post:

“It took $4 trillion to decrease the debt-to-nominal GDP ratio from 132% to 115%. Let’s say the US reduces it further to 70%, which is where the ratio was in September 2008. Just using a linear extrapolation equates to $10.5 trillion of credit that must be created to accomplish this deleveraging. This is how Bitcoin goes to $1 million because prices are set on the margin.”

The increasing credit in the US will lead to more investors looking for a safe haven asset like Bitcoin, added Hayes:

“As the freely traded supply of Bitcoin dwindles, the most fiat money in history will be chasing a safe haven from not just Americans but Chinese, Japanese, and Western Europeans. Get long, and stay long.”

Related: Trump’s presidency could bring SEC reform and pro-crypto regulations

Quantitative easing refers to monetary policy where a central bank purchases a predetermined amount of government bonds to stimulate economic activity through liquidity injections.

Liquidity injections from central banks often boost Bitcoin’s price, by encouraging investors to seek higher returns in alternative assets.