© Reuters
Investing.com traded just below record highs in Asian trading on Tuesday, seeing continued support from steady inflows into spot exchange-traded funds that were approved earlier this year.
The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading up 5.6% at $72,156.6 at 10:51 p.m. ET (02:51 GMT), holding close to an all-time high of $72,771 reached on Monday.
Bitcoin's latest all-time highs come as an extension of a rally triggered by the approval of spot ETFs in January, which invited a large amount of institutional capital into the token.
The token was also boosted by MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, which purchased 12,000 tokens on Monday using debt.
Bitcoin ETFs Receive $2.7 Billion Weekly Inflows
A report from digital asset manager CoinShares showed on Monday that investment products tracking Bitcoin recorded capital inflows of around $2.7 billion in the week to March 10.
BlackRock Inc's (NYSE:) iShares Bitcoin ETF (NASDAQ:) saw the lion's share of these inflows, with nearly $2.1 billion, while Fidelity (NYSE:) saw an inflow of $1.34 billion.
Bitcoin remained the sole driver of capital inflows into cryptocurrency markets, with other major tokens, such as and, seeing minimal inflows or outflows.
Digital asset manager Grayscale (NYSE:) also saw sustained outflows from its $1.7 billion Bitcoin ETF last week as it continued to struggle with increased competition in the cryptocurrency ETF sector.
Bitcoin ETF approvals in early 2024 triggered a flood of institutional capital into the world's largest cryptocurrency, as they allow exposure to the token without having to directly invest in cryptocurrencies.
But even as Bitcoin's price surpassed 2021 highs, trading volumes for the token, especially on the retail side, remained at a fraction of those seen during the 2021 bull run, according to data from Investing.com.
The trend raised questions about how sustainable Bitcoin's recent rally remains, while also sparking accusations of market manipulation by exchanges and stablecoin traders.
Retail interest in cryptocurrencies had largely declined over the past two years, following a sharp price decline marked by rising interest rates and a series of high-profile frauds and bankruptcies.
Cryptocurrency stocks had a mixed performance on Monday. While Microstrategy, which is largely considered a Bitcoin proxy, rose 4%, exchange operator Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 and miner Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 fell 1% and 12%, respectively.
Coinbase in particular is still facing the Securities and Exchange Commission over the nature of cryptocurrencies.
