According to data from Bitstamp, the USD price of 1 BTC has eclipsed its previous all-time high of $19,666 set on December 13, 2017.
Bitcoin has hit a new all-time highest price relative to USD as listed on Bitstamp, eclipsing its previous high of $19,666.00 set on the exchange on December 13, 2017.
The specific price of BTC relative to fiat currency at any given time depends on the rate set by specific exchanges, and the listed all-time high price or price at any given time depends on the particular data set referenced. Though Bitstamp does not list the highest all-time bitcoin price of any exchange (Bitfinex, for instance, listed bitcoin at $19,891 on December 11, 2017), its data stream represents one of the longest-operating bitcoin exchanges in history.
The all-time high mark set today represents a major milestone in a bitcoin bull market that started in early March 2020, when the price rallied from a low in the $3,000 range. Since then, it has reached more than six times its value in less than nine months. Bitcoin set an all-time market capitalization high on November 17, 2020.
Though bitcoin is a monetary system in and of itself, that is not reliant on value relative to USD or any other fiat system, the USD price of 1 BTC is a popular metric for signalling the growing acceptance of Bitcoin. By many measures, bitcoin has been the single-best performing financial asset in the world since it was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in January 2009.