Bitcoin (BTC) Surges to Record Highs in Japan, Philippines and Argentina’s Local Currency

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, soared to all-time highs in several countries across Asia and South America on May 21. The digital asset’s price jumped by 7% on the day, pushing it closer to its record peak in US dollars.

The price of Bitcoin reached an intraday high of $71,650 on May 21, marking a six-week high. According to CoinGecko data, this surge brought Bitcoin within 3.4% of its all-time high of $73,738, set on March 14.

While Bitcoin has yet to surpass its US dollar record, the recent rally has pushed the cryptocurrency to new peaks against several other fiat currencies.

In Japan, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of 11.2 million yen in early trading on May 21, according to CoinMarketCap. This marks the first time the asset has been worth more than 11 million Japanese yen. The Japanese yen has weakened against the US dollar by 10% since the beginning of the year.

Source: Coinmarketcap

Bitcoin also set a new record in Argentina, reaching 63.8 million Argentine pesos (ARS) on May 21, slightly higher than its previous peaks in mid-March. Argentina has been battling high inflation, currently at a staggering 290%, and currency devaluation over the past few years.

Bitcoin Hits PHP 4.18M, Nears New All-Time High

Similarly, one Bitcoin briefly traded for a record 4.18 million Philippine pesos (PHP) on May 21, surpassing its mid-March highs.

Industry observer Thomas Fahrer noted that other countries where BTC either equaled or came very close to its mid-March peak prices include Britain, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Norway, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey.

Crypto analyst Willy Woo observed a month’s worth of Bitcoin short positions had been liquidated, stating, “One more layer to go to short-squeeze past all-time highs.”

Source: Willy Woo

According to Coinglass, over the past 24 hours, 79,010 traders were liquidated, with total crypto liquidations reaching $345 million. Notably, 78.5% of these liquidations were short positions.

Markus Thielen, head of Research at 10x Research, predicted earlier this week that a “breakthrough above $67,500 could potentially lead to new all-time highs.”

Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $70,945, just $2,500 shy of setting a new all-time high in US dollars.

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