Bitcoin jumps above $72,000 to new record as halving event draws near

Bitcoin hit a new record high on Monday as it surged above the $72,000 level for the first time ever.

The cryptocurrency has decisively broken above its November 2021 record high of $69,000 after enduring a brutal year-long bear market that included a near-80% price decline.

Investors are now clamoring for more bitcoin as the supply and demand profile of the cryptocurrency appears to face an imbalance.

Demand for bitcoin has been strong since the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in January, with about $20 billion pouring into the two most popular bitcoin ETFs offered by BlackRock and Fidelity. 

Meanwhile, an upcoming halving event in April will cut the amount of bitcoin awarded to miners by 50%, further reducing the supply of new bitcoin that hits the market. The combination of solid demand and dwindling supply has led to a boom in price.

"The natural sellers are the miners. The miners can only sell 900 bitcoin a day right now. They're only going to be able to sell 450 bitcoin a day at the end of April. As long as there's more demand in the market than the 450 bitcoin a day, there isn't any catalyst to drive this asset down," MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor told CNBC on Monday.

Bitcoin jumped about 5% on Monday to an intra-day high of $72,362, and Saylor thinks it will go even higher.

"That $66,000 to $16,000 crash, that shook out the tourists. That shook out the non-believers. When it was $16,000 we were all ready to ride it zero. And that's what you'll find with the bitcoin maximalist. Now we're riding it the other direction," Saylor said. "There's just no reason why it shouldn't just keep adjusting up to find the marginal supply as the demand builds."