The world's most prominent cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has surged past the $50,000 milestone, marking its highest valuation in more than two years. This significant rise comes amidst growing anticipation of forthcoming interest rate reductions later in the year and recent regulatory approvals for US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tailored to track Bitcoin's value.
Bitcoin's value has surged by 16.3% since the beginning of the year, reaching its peak on Monday, surpassing its previous high recorded on December 27, 2021. At 12:56 p.m. EST (1756 GMT), Bitcoin was trading at $49,899, up by 4.96% for the day, maintaining a steady oscillation around the $50,000 mark.
Antoni Trenchev, the co-founder of Nexo, a crypto lending platform, emphasized the significance of Bitcoin breaching the $50,000 threshold, especially following the introduction of spot ETFs last month. He noted that while the launch of spot ETFs failed to push Bitcoin above this key psychological level initially, it now stands as a significant milestone.
The surge in Bitcoin's price has also bolstered the performance of crypto-related stocks, with notable gains seen in companies such as Coinbase, Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital, and MicroStrategy, the latter being a notable purchaser of Bitcoin.
In tandem with Bitcoin's surge, the price of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also experienced an uptick, reaching $2,607.57, reflecting a 4.12% increase.
Matteo Greco, a research analyst at Fineqia International, attributed Bitcoin's recent price surge primarily to increased inflows into BTC spot ETFs. He highlighted the approval of the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January as a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency industry.
Moreover, Greco noted a slowdown in outflows from Grayscale Investment's Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, following its approval to convert to an ETF by the SEC. This trend indicates a shift in investor sentiment towards spot ETFs, with a notable increase in net inflows.
Analysts foresee a gradual buildup of funds into the newly approved ETFs, with projections ranging from $10 billion by 2024, according to Bernstein, to potentially attracting $50 billion to $100 billion within this year alone, as estimated by Standard Chartered analysts.
Additionally, the market is eagerly awaiting decisions from the SEC on seven pending applications for ETFs tied to the spot price of Ether, expected to be finalized by May. Moreover, investors are eyeing the upcoming Bitcoin "halving" in April, a process designed to curtail the release of new Bitcoins, which historically has resulted in price rallies.
Ben Laidler, the global markets strategist at eToro, emphasized the significance of these developments for the cryptocurrency market, highlighting Bitcoin's resilience and its potential impact amidst broader economic shifts, including potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the potential approval of Ethereum spot ETFs.
