© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: In this illustration, representations of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency are seen, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
By Ankur Banerjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – It hit a two-year high on Tuesday, surpassing $68,600 and edging toward the all-time high as money continues to flow into the largest cryptocurrency by market value.
Bitcoin has gained 50% this year with most of the increase coming in recent weeks as inflows into US-listed bitcoin funds surged.
On Tuesday, it was at $68,500 in Asian time, having hit a session high of $68,828, just shy of the all-time high of $68,999.99 it set in November 2021.
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in the United States earlier this year. Its launch paved the way for new large investors and has reignited the enthusiasm and momentum reminiscent of the run-up to record levels in 2021.
“It's crypto mania 4.0, and I think if we continue to see fairly low volatility in bonds and rates, it could continue. There is definitely some irrational behavior creeping into the market,” said Kyle Rodda, senior markets analyst at Capital.com . .
Net flows into the 10 largest US spot bitcoin funds reached $2.17 billion in the week to March 1, with more than half of that going to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (NYSE 🙂 , according to LSEG data.
“The appetite to gain exposure to Bitcoin is reaching insatiable levels,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG.
“Although Bitcoin was overbought in the short term, the move is far from being realized, and declines will be well supported, with a move towards $80,000 not out of the question.”
The rebound occurred in conjunction with the record fall in the stock indices from the Nasdaq and the technological Nasdaq, and with the volatility indicators in stocks and currencies falling.
Smaller rival ether has added to speculation that it could soon also have exchange-traded funds driving inflows and is up more than 50% on the year and last stood at $3,649.
A regulatory filing on Monday showed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has further delayed its decision on an application by asset manager BlackRock for its spot ethereum exchange-traded fund.
Elsewhere, the number of dollar-pegged stablecoins issued by has exceeded $100 billion, the cryptocurrency company said on its website on Monday. Tether issues a stablecoin that is designed to maintain a constant value of $1.
