Key Points
The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has seen a substantial rally, with a gain of over 10% in the last 24 hours, pushing its price over $57,000. This surge is attributed to several factors, including high trading volumes for spot Bitcoin ETFs and the anticipation surrounding the upcoming Bitcoin halving event.
Record-Breaking Bitcoin ETFs
The realm of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has hit a significant milestone today. The Nine Bitcoin ETFs, which were recently launched, have set a new all-time volume record.
According to insights provided by Bloomberg’s ETF strategist, Eric Balchunas, the total trading volume soared to a remarkable $2.4 billion. This narrowly beats the previous record set on the first day of trading.
Among these, BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF has shown standout performance, accounting for approximately $1.3 billion of the total volume. On Monday, IBIT saw a surge of roughly 30%, breaking its previous record.
Since their launch last month, the nine Bitcoin ETFs have collectively attracted a total of $6.1 billion in inflows. This signals a robust demand for the newly launched Bitcoin investment products.
Ryan Rasmussen, an analyst at Bitwise Asset Management, explained this phenomenon to CNBC. He stated that the price jump is due to the settlement day for Bitcoin futures, and traders positioning themselves ahead of the Bitcoin halving, which is set to happen in the second half of April.
Meanwhile, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at $22.8 billion, has seen an outflow of $7.4 billion in the last 30 days. Since its conversion into an ETF in mid-January, GBTC has not recorded any inflows. However, on Monday, GBTC registered its lowest single-day outflow at $22 million.
Large players are building positions ahead of the upcoming Bitcoin halving scheduled in April 2024, as evidenced by the ETF inflows. On-chain data shows that the Bitcoin whales have also been accumulating massively over the last month. The Bitcoin whale cohort holding over 1,000 Bitcoins has grown considerably.
On Monday, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy announced the acquisition of approximately 3,000 more Bitcoins worth $155 million this month. With this latest purchase, the company’s Bitcoin holdings now stand at around $10 billion.
Top market analysts have already started giving out massive price targets for BTC going ahead. In a notable development for the cryptocurrency market, esteemed trader Peter Brandt has revised his price target for Bitcoin (BTC) amidst the ongoing bullish momentum.
Brandt’s bullish prediction comes amid Bitcoin’s recent breakthrough above the upper boundary of the 15-month channel. Previously set at $120,000, the new target for the culmination of this bullish cycle has been significantly raised to $200,000, reflecting Brandt’s heightened optimism regarding Bitcoin’s price trajectory.
However, Brandt cautioned that this bullish interpretation would be invalidated if Bitcoin were to register a close below the low recorded in the previous week.
This year, Bitcoin has surpassed traditional assets such as stocks and gold in terms of performance. A ratio comparing Bitcoin’s price to that of gold has reached its highest level in over two years.
