Bitcoin is once again knocking on the door of its all-time high, fueled by sustained market momentum that saw the cryptocurrency notch its highest-ever weekly close over the weekend.
The leading digital asset closed Sunday, May 18, just shy of $106,500, marking its sixth consecutive week of gains, according to TradingView. This surpasses its previous record weekly close of $104,400 set in December. Bitcoin’s all-time high remains $109,358, reached on January 20.
Currently trading around $104,730, Bitcoin has gained 2% in the past 24 hours and is now less than 3% away from its peak price. The cryptocurrency also recorded its highest-ever 24-hour closing price on May 18.
“Bitcoin just had its highest daily candle close… ever,” noted investor Scott Melker on X (formerly Twitter) on May 19. Analyst Rekt Capital added that a daily close above $105,000 would see Bitcoin “develop a brand new higher high.”
The recent surge mirrors a similar period in November when Bitcoin added $30,000 in three of its largest weekly candles. So far in May, Bitcoin has climbed approximately $12,000, moving from $94,000 to over $106,000 before a slight pullback to around $105,400.
Adding to the bullish sentiment, Arete Capital partner “McKenna” observed the return of the Coinbase premium, which indicates strong U.S. buying interest by comparing Bitcoin’s price on Coinbase to Binance. McKenna remarked on the unusual “strength of this bid on a Sunday night,” speculating that “someone knows some important news dropping next week.”
Despite the impressive short-term performance, analyst Willy Woo highlighted on May 18 that Bitcoin’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is trending downward as the network matures and absorbs more capital. Woo posited that Bitcoin is now being traded as a “newest macro asset,” and will continue to absorb capital until it reaches equilibrium. He compared its long-term trajectory to traditional monetary expansion and GDP growth, estimating Bitcoin’s annual growth rate to settle around 8% in 15 to 20 years.