Omar
Marques
|
Lightrocket
|
Getty
Images
Bitcoin
jumped
to
start
the
week,
edging
even
closer
to
its
all-time
high
after
the
rally
took
a
breather
over
the
weekend.
The
flagship
cryptocurrency
was
last
higher
by
9%
at
$68,635.20,
according
to
Coin
Metrics.
At
one
point,
it
rose
to
as
much
as
$68,848.62,
its
highest
level
since
November
2021
—
the
last
time
it
reached
a
record.
Ether
advanced
more
than
5%
to
$3,650.59.
Both
coins
are
coming
off
their
best
week
in
almost
a
year
—
bitcoin
gained
about
21%
and
ether
16%
—
but
paused
their
run
over
the
weekend
as
the
market
digested
two
days
of
steep
outflows
from
the
Grayscale
Bitcoin
Trust
(GBTC)
that
were
offset
by
inflows
into
other
“newborn”
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds.
“With
the
birth
of
these
nine
new
ETFs
the
big
moves
now
tend
to
take
place
during
the
normal
trading
week
rather
than
the
weekends,”
said
Antoni
Trenchev, co-founder of
crypto
exchange Nexo.
“What
we’re
seeing
today
…
might
well
be
a
rerun
of
early
last
week
when
bitcoin
surged
$10,000
in
the
space
of
a
couple
of
days,”
he
added.
“We’re
in
that
sort
of
environment
when
a
day
or
two
of
sideways
consolidation
can
precede
explosive
price
action
thanks
to
the
voracious
demand
of
these
new
spot
ETFs.”
Bitcoin
lifted
other
crypto
tokens,
especially
meme
coins.
Dogecoin
surged
32%,
while
Shiba
Inu
coin
rocketed
95%.
Analysts
point
to
them
as
evidence
that
retail
investors,
who
have
been
absent
for
much
of
the
recent
crypto
rally,
are
starting
to
return
to
the
crypto
market.
Last
week,
meme
tokens’
weekly
trade
volume
surged
to
their
highest
level
since
late
2021,
according
to
crypto
data
provider
Kaiko.
Some
crypto
equities
rode
the
bitcoin
wave,
such
as
Coinbase
and
Microstrategy,
which
rose
11%
and
23.6%,
respectively.
Miners
sat
the
rally
out,
however,
giving
back
earlier
gains
as
the
short-term
effect
of
the
upcoming
halving
in
April
—
when
mining
companies’
revenue
will
be
slashed
—
weighed
on
investors.
CleanSpark
and
Cipher
Mining
dropped
more
than
7%
each,
while
Iris
Energy
and
Marathon
Digital
each
dipped
nearly
5%
and
Riot
Platforms
slid
almost
7%.
Some
analysts
have
suggested
that
while
bitcoin
could
keep
rising
in
the
short
term,
it
may
cool
in
the
next
few
weeks,
as
unrealized
profit
margins
approach
extreme
levels.
Bitcoin’s
realized
price
is
sitting
at
just
about
$42,700,
according
to
CryptoQuant.
Nevertheless,
long-term
investors
are
confident
that
the
combination
of
increasing
demand
for
bitcoin
through
the
new
U.S.
ETFs
and
a
tighter
supply
expected
after
the
April
halving
event
will
push
the
price
of
bitcoin
to
a
new
all-time
high.
Crypto
has
also
been
getting
a
bid
from
the
stock
market,
where
the
tech-heavy
Nasdaq
Composite
reached
an
all-time
high
on
Friday,
becoming
the
last
of
the
major
stock
indexes
to
hit
a
record
close
this
year.
David
Duong,
head
of
institutional
research
at
Coinbase,
said
that
although
March
could
be
a
month
of
sideways
grinding
for
bitcoin,
the
cryptocurrency
is
benefiting
from
an
AI-
and
blockchain
technology-driven
productivity
boom
he
expects
is
here
to
stay.
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