14-2-2024 (NEW YORK) The total investment in Bitcoin surged past $1 trillion on Wednesday, marking the first time since November 2021, as inflows to U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to bolster prices.
Bitcoin’s price soared to $51,606 on Wednesday, hitting its latest 25-month high and marking a 4.1 per cent increase for the day. This surge propelled the token’s market capitalization to $1.005 trillion, according to data from price platform Coingecko.
According to Coingecko, Bitcoin’s market cap hit an all-time high of $1.28 trillion in November 2021.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has witnessed a 20 per cent increase since the beginning of February, poised for its most significant monthly rise since October.
Bitcoin investments constitute over half of the $2.01 trillion held in the overall cryptocurrency market, including Ether and other digital currencies.
Analysts attribute some of the recent price action to strong inflows into new U.S.-listed ETFs. Capital flows into the 11 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs surged to $1.64 billion in the week leading to Wednesday, as per LSEG Lipper data.
In the preceding five trading sessions, these ETFs garnered inflows of $409 million, having received regulatory approval and commenced trading in January.
“In crypto, price often drives flow,” analysts at crypto liquidity provider B2C2 noted. “One has to imagine that if there are more days like the last few, large inflows will be met by further price rises for spot Bitcoin.”
CRYPTO-LINKED STOCKS RISE
Shares of U.S.-listed cryptocurrency companies also experienced gains before the opening bell on Wednesday. Exchange Coinbase saw a 7 per cent increase, while miners Riot Platforms and CleanSpark surged nearly 9 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
Bitcoin had hit an all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021 before facing challenges throughout 2022 and the initial part of 2023. These challenges included global central banks tightening monetary policies and numerous high-profile failures at crypto companies, including leading exchange FTX.
However, in recent months, optimism regarding a soft landing for the economy and the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs have buoyed sentiment. The ETFs have been hailed as a game-changer for the industry, offering exposure to Bitcoin without direct ownership of the asset.
Ether, the second-largest token underpinning the Ethereum network, surged by 4.1 per cent to $2,742, marking its highest level since May 2022.
