Bitcoin's price surged at the beginning of the week, inching closer to its all-time high, after a brief pause in its weekend rally. The flagship cryptocurrency climbed by 3.7% to $65,127.00, nearing its peak since November 2021. Ether also saw gains, rising 1% to $3,508.24.

Following their best week in almost a year, with Bitcoin gaining about 21% and Ether 16%, both coins took a breather over the weekend. This pause came as the market absorbed significant outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF, offset by inflows into new "newborn" Bitcoin ETFs.

According to Antoni Trenchev, cofounder of crypto exchange Nexo, the birth of these new ETFs has shifted major price movements to occur during the trading week rather than weekends. He suggests that the current environment could lead to explosive price action similar to early last week.

While Bitcoin sits about 6% off its all-time high of $68,982.20, some analysts caution that it may cool in the short term as unrealized profit margins reach extreme levels. Despite this, long-term investors remain optimistic, expecting increasing demand fueled by new U.S. exchange-traded funds and a tighter supply after the April halving event to drive Bitcoin to new highs.

Crypto's momentum has been further bolstered by a bullish stock market, with the Nasdaq Composite reaching an all-time high on Friday. David Duong, head of institutional research at Coinbase, believes that Bitcoin's performance is benefiting from an AI- and blockchain technology-driven productivity boom.

While large-cap cryptocurrencies saw modest moves on Monday, smaller coins, particularly meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu coin, experienced significant surges. Analysts view this as evidence of retail investors returning to the crypto market.

In the realm of crypto equities, companies like Coinbase and Microstrategy saw gains in premarket trading, riding the Bitcoin wave. Mining companies such as CleanSpark, Marathon Digital, Iris Energy, and Riot Platforms also saw positive movement.

Overall, Bitcoin's journey to its all-time high continues amidst a dynamic market influenced by ETFs, retail investor interest, and broader economic trends.