On Wednesday, Bitcoin (BTC) surged to a new all-time high as demand for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to hit records. The price of the apex cryptocurrency jumped as high as 2% to reach $73,679.
The investment products backed by Bitcoin have garnered bulk investor demand since they were launched in early January after gaining approval from the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Attracted $1.1 Billion in Daily Inflow on March 12, 2024
According to data from JPMorgan, on Tuesday, the spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a record inflow of $1.1 billion. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the charge by attracting a whopping $849 million in inflows.
The spot Bitcoin ETFs, excluding the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), now hold approximately $31.1 billion worth of Bitcoin in assets under management (AUM). Including Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF, that figure reaches nearly $60 billion.
Crypto asset manager Grayscale has the most AUM among the spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, since the fund already held more than $20 billion worth of BTC before it was converted from an over-the-counter trust into a spot ETF, it is often excluded from the Bitcoin ETF flow calculations.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with $14.7 billion in AUM, and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which has attracted $9.1 billion, are the largest among the lot. The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), with $2.8 billion in assets under management, comes in third place.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, now owns 215,645 BTC under the IBIT ETF. This figure is higher than that of MicroStrategy, which is the largest holder of Bitcoin among publicly traded companies in the world.
Increasing Demand for Bitcoin Will Create a “Supply Shock” Post-Halving
With just 6,300 new Bitcoins mined each week, the rising demand from the spot BTC ETFs has been so overwhelming that fresh supply of the leading crypto asset is finding it hard to keep up with demand, resulting in record-high prices.
It is predicted that once the block reward halving event occurs next month, Bitcoin is going to suffer a “supply shock”. The event that occurs once every four years on the blockchain slashes the BTC miners get as a reward for creating blocks in half, leading to a reduced supply. Post-halving, there will be just 3,150 Bitcoins that will be mined each week.
Bitcoin is up around 180% since September.
Experts Warn of a Price Correction
However, experts are warning investors not to ignore the strong signals of a price correction. Bitcoin’s sustained break above the $70,000 level further strengthens the structure for attack at the initial target of $74,767. The psychological barrier for the cryptocurrency is set at $80,000 and $81,531.
Bitcoin’s strong overbought position, caused by the ETFs, and diverging momentum indicator points to the growing risk of a price correction.
The resistance levels for BTC are set at $74,767, $75,561, and $80,000, respectively. Meanwhile, its support levels are at $73,000, $70,650, and $68,750, respectively.
One Bitcoin Whale Made $217 Million in Profit From 8,500 BTC Bought in August 2023
The current rally also helped create a whole lot of crypto millionaires. As per a report by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, a Bitcoin whale struck a massive $217 million jackpot after the cryptocurrency’s prices surged.
The whale began accumulating Bitcoin on Binance at an average price of $32,854 back in August 2023. They reportedly purchased 8,500 BTC during that time.
Once Bitcoin’s price started to increase, the whale sold 4,300 BTC worth $183 million on Binance at an average price of $43,534. They sold another 100 BTC worth $7.22 million just hours later.
Currently, the Bitcoin whale holds 4,300 BTC, which is worth $313 million at current rates, making it a total profit of $217 million.
At press time, Bitcoin was changing hands at $72,863 – down 0.6% in the last 24 hours.
More News: Bitcoin Overtakes Silver To Become 8th Largest Asset In The World
