Bitcoin is flirting with a winning run last seen a year ago, aided by the record-breaking debut of US exchange-traded funds for the token.
The digital asset rose about 1% to US$48,436 as of 9.50am on Monday in Singapore, poised for a seventh straight daily gain that would mark the longest such streak since January 2023 if the advance holds.
Nine new spot bitcoin funds began trading in the US on 11 January and have attracted more than $9-billion of investor inflows so far. Two of the offerings, from BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, rank as the most successful ETFs launched based on assets garnered after a month on the market, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart wrote in a note.
There are indications of an “increasing movement of institutional money into the asset class”, said Caroline Bowler, CEO at crypto platform BTC Markets.
The more than decade-old Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the largest portfolio dedicated to the token, converted into an ETF the same day the new funds went live. A more than $6-billion outflow from the Grayscale vehicle has slowed. The batch of 10 ETFs have attracted a net $2.8-billion overall.
Hype over the ETFs fuelled a bitcoin revival last year, briefly taking the token past $49 000 on the day they began trading. A multiday, $10 000 selloff then ensued as investors booked profits and waited to see how the ETFs fared. The subsequent rebound has brought $50 000 into view, a level last seen in 2021.
Optimism about the quadrennial bitcoin halving due in April is also filtering across crypto. Halving cuts the quantity of bitcoin that miners receive for operating the powerful computers that verify transactions on the blockchain. The event is often viewed a support for prices based on historical precedent.
Aside from ETF inflows, sentiment towards bitcoin is “typically positive” during the Lunar New Year holidays that are currently under way in Asia, Fundstrat Global Advisors wrote in a note.
Bitcoin remains about $20 000 below the record high the token hit in 2021, during a pandemic-era bull run oiled by easy money.
