BTC Hits $44,000 as Coinbase CEO Speculates BTC Could Be Key to Extending Western Civilization

■     Bitcoin price has forayed past the $43,000 psychological level amid rising momentum despite BTC being massively overbought.

■     The uptick liquidates almost $85 million worth of positions, while open interest rose to a 20-month high at $18.3 billion.

■     BlackRock receives $100,000 in seed funding for its spot BTC ETF as investors front-run approvals.

■     FOMO continues to drive the crypto market with anticipation for spot ETF launches to bring billions of dollars of new investment to the space.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has revisited levels last seen in April 2022, prior to the collapse of the Terra UST ecosystem. Its foray above the $42,000 psychological level has market watchers enthused, so much so that there are now hyped-up predictions about further gains.

Bitcoin price hits $44,000 as Coinbase CEO contemplates BTC as key to Western civilization

Bitcoin (BTC) price is on a tear, up 175% year to date, with the potential for more gains. It comes barely 24 hours after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, “One idea I've been contemplating is that BTC may be the key to extending Western civilization.” 

According to the Coinbase executive, while the US is on a journey to inflating the money supply and increase deficit spending, the people now have an alternative, crypto, posing as an antidote to inflation. 

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNBC, one analyst said that “12 to16 months after halving is the best performance of Bitcoin.” However, the analyst observed that things may be different this time as BTC price is higher, with miners reducing their production in the face of smaller block rewards.

The scarcity in this regard entails the “stock to flow ratio” – the amount of Bitcoin mined every year divided by the amount of outstanding tokens. 

With no spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals just yet, and given the halving event is still out five to six months, the market is riding on FOMO.

Capital is flowing into the Bitcoin market amid anticipation that spot ETF launches will ultimately bring billions of dollars of new investment to the space. This explains why investors are already providing capital as seed money for the ETF products.

Specifically, a recent report on CoinDesk revealed that BlackRock received $100K seed funding for Its Spot BTC ETF. The capital influx, presented as seed funding, represents an initial funding allowing an ETF product to fund the creation units that underlie the ETF. With this, shares can be offered and traded in the open market.

The show of faith by an unknown investor came after BlackRock made a fresh application with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Bitcoin price uptick liquidates almost $85 million worth of positions

The surge saw up to $69 million worth of short positions liquidated, alongside $15.82 million worth of long positions.

BTC liquidations, Source: Coinglass.

Nevertheless, open interest rose to a 20-month high around $18.28 billion, levels last tested in April 2022.

BTC open interest,, Source: Coinglass.

Bitcoin price is trading for $43,894 as of 19:25 GMT time, following a rejection from the midline of the supply zone at $43,860. A decisive candlestick close above this level would clear the path for a home run to the $50,000 psychological level.

BTC/USDT 1-week chart, Source: TradingView.