Bitcoin’s (BTC) price broke past the $57,000 marker for the first time since late 2021 following news that nine of the US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded all-time high trading volumes.
Bitcoin Spot ETFs Amass $2.4 Billion In Single-Day Trading Volume, An All-Time High
Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted on X that the recently launched ETFs baked by Bitcoin set a new record after hitting $2.4 billion in single-day trading inflows.
According to reports, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF topped the charts, recording around $1.3 billion in total net inflows, representing roughly 55% of the overall figure.
Apart from BlackRock, spot Bitcoin ETFs from Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, VanEck, WisdomTree, Hashdex, Bitwise, and Valkyrie also contributed to the figure by attracting considerable amounts of inflows.
Meanwhile, digital asset manager Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) ETF recorded its lowest outflows to date at $22.4 million. This is indicative of how the BTC-focused investment vehicles growing in popularity could affect the price of the apex cryptocurrency. There has been a massive influx of institutional capital into the ETFs even after macros are looking a little uncertain of the price being sustainable.
Bitcoin is Performing Better than Gold and Stocks in 2024
However, the increasing popularity of Bitcoin ETFs could have a positive effect on the leading cryptocurrency’s price since the funds are backed by actual Bitcoin. As per the rules of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), unlike futures ETFs that are backed by derivatives tracking the price of the underlying asset, institutions offering spot ETFs must support their shares with the asset itself.
The remarkable surge in Bitcoin’s price also came on the day when the S&P 500 Index was trading in the red zone. On Monday, the S&P 500 traded at 0.5% in the negative territory, while BTC recorded a 10% gain to remain on the upward trajectory.
This is indicative of the Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency market shedding their over-reliance on equities. Historically, the lack of correlation between the cryptocurrency and stock markets has set the stage for some of the most substantial bull runs for both BTC and the altcoins.
Experts Predict a $6 Trillion Market Cap for Bitcoin
Since the start of the year, Bitcoin also demonstrated a far superior price performance compared to gold. The ratio comparing the cryptocurrency’s price to that of the precious metal has reached its highest level in over two years.
Jurrien Timmer, the director of global macro at Fidelity – the issuer of the Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) ETF, predicts a massive expansion for Bitcoin’s market cap. He expects the crypto asset’s market capitalization to hit $6 trillion. However, this figure is still worth only a quarter of the over $13 trillion market cap of the gold market.
In 2024, Bitcoin’s price has surged by 33%. Sustained upward momentum in the market has also fueled interest in other leading cryptocurrencies like Ether (ETH) and BNB.
Since January 11, the day the SEC greenlit spot Bitcoin ETFs for trade in the US, a total of $5.6 billion has flowed into the funds.
Additionally, the Bitcoin blockchain is set to undergo a block reward reduction process in April called the ‘Halving’. This once-in-four-year event reduces BTC’s supply, further contributing to its high demand.
Micheal Saylor’s MicroStrategy Acquired $168 Million Worth of BTC in January
Meanwhile, on Monday, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy revealed that it acquired an additional amount of nearly 3,000 BTC, worth approximately $168 million, for its reserves in February. With the latest purchase, the company is said to hold BTC worth $10 billion, making it the largest corporate holder of the crypto asset.
At the same time, whales continued to accumulate Bitcoin in large amounts throughout the last month. In January alone, over 150 new Bitcoin wallet addresses were created, with each of them holding more than 1,000 BTC – worth an estimated $56 million.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $56,142 – up 0.8% in the last 24 hours.
