6-7-2023 (LONDON) Bitcoin reached a 13-month high on Thursday, buoyed by growing institutional demand for the cryptocurrency. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s recent comments have added to the drumbeat for institutional bitcoin demand. However, Bitcoin fell 1% to $30,147.48 after U.S. jobs data surpassed expectations, increasing investor concerns about the path of interest rates. The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting showed that most officials would support more rate increases ahead. Cryptocurrency liquidity has been low for several months, exaggerating both up and down moves.
While sentiment among traders was high, with bitcoin’s biggest ever endorsement from a major institutional player, Noelle Acheson, economist and author of the “Crypto is Macro Now” newsletter, said that “there is still a weight on the price” and that “traditional markets seem to be entering a more risk-off mood.”
Since BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, filed to launch a spot bitcoin ETF on June 15, bitcoin has steadily climbed. The number of coins held by institutions through trusts, ETFs, and funds has spiked since then, reaching its highest level in more than a year, according to CryptoQuant, and bitcoin open interest is back to pre-FTX levels.
Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale, whose bitcoin trust is awaiting the green light to convert into an ETF, said that “market participants are reacting favorably to the entrance of legacy financial institutions into bitcoin—a trend that lends further validity to an asset that was once believed to be a passing fad.”
