Bitcoin bursts above $65,000, record high comes into view (updated)
04/03/2024 13:50
(Repeats to additional subscribers)
By Amanda Cooper and Tom Westbrook
LONDON/SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - Bitcoin rallied to
a two-year high on Monday, breaking above $65,000 as a wave of
money carried it within striking distance of record levels.
The price hit a session high of $65,537 early in Europe,
having already hit a new two-year high in Asian trading. It was
last up 4% at $65,045. Bitcoin hit a record $68,999.99 in
November 2021.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value has gained 50%
this year and most of the rise come in the last few weeks where
inflows into U.S.-listed bitcoin funds have surged.
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in the
United States earlier this year. Their launch opened the way for
new large investors and has re-ignited enthusiasm and momentum
reminiscent of the run up to record levels in 2021.
"The flows are not drying up as investors feel more
confident the higher price appears to go," said Markus Thielen,
head of research at crypto analytics house 10x Research in
Singapore.
Net flows into the 10 largest U.S. spot bitcoin funds
reached $2.17 billion in the week to Mar 1, with more than half
of that going into BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust IBIT.O ,
according to LSEG data.
Smaller rival ether ETH= has hitched a ride on speculation
that it too may soon have exchange-traded funds driving inflows.
It's up 50% year-to-date and by Monday was trading at two-year
highs, up 2.6% on the day at $3,518.
The rally has come in tandem with records tumbling on stock
indexes from Japan's Nikkei .N225 to the S&P 500 .SPX and
tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC and with volatility gauges in equities
.VIX and foreign exchange .DBCVIX turning lower.
"In a world where Nasdaq is making new all-time highs,
crypto is going to perform well as bitcoin remains a
high-volatility tech proxy and liquidity thermometer," said
Brent Donnelly, trader and president at analysis firm Spectra
Markets.
"We are back to a 2021-style market where everything goes up
and everyone is having fun."
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam Editing by Louise Heavens)
((tom.westbrook@tr.com; +65 6973 8284;))