Bitcoin (BTC) has surged in the past 24 hours, breaking above the important $66,000 price level for the first time since late July. The cryptocurrency gained over 5%, reaching around $65,980 during Tuesday’s early Asian trading session.
As Bitcoin rose, the overall cryptocurrency market also saw a boost. The total market cap increased by more than 4%, now sitting above $2.4 trillion. This rebound led to the liquidation of over $245 million in leveraged positions, mostly affecting short traders.
What’s driving this rally? Is it a surge in institutional interest? A growing belief in Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation? Or perhaps a combination of both?
Let’s discover.
The rise in major stock indexes like the S&P 500 has increased confidence in Bitcoin, especially among institutional investors. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reaffirmed Bitcoin’s status as an asset class, saying its adoption won’t be impacted by political events like the U.S. presidential election.
Fink even suggested that Bitcoin’s market cap could grow as large as the housing market, which is currently valued at over $50 trillion.
Big Institutions Increase Bitcoin Holdings
In response, institutions like Japan’s Metaplanet Inc. (Tokyo: 3350) and MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) have expanded their Bitcoin investments to hedge against the devaluation of fiat currencies.
Earlier today, Metaplanet announced it had purchased an additional 106.977 Bitcoins, valued at around ¥1 billion ($6.69 million). This brings their total holdings to 855.478 Bitcoins, which has helped boost their stock market performance.
Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw significant cash inflows. On Monday, net inflows surpassed half a billion dollars, adding to strong activity last week. Fidelity’s FBTC and Bitwise’s BITB ETFs recorded net inflows of $239 million and $100 million, respectively.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt pointed out that Bitcoin needs to break above its July peak of $68,224 to confirm a bullish breakout and aim for a new all-time high. The upcoming weekly closes will be key to determining Bitcoin’s midterm price direction.
However, if Bitcoin drops below $63,000 in the near future, it could reverse the current bullish sentiment and set the stage for a more bearish outlook in the medium term.
With institutional investors doubling down and ETFs seeing massive inflows, all eyes are on Bitcoin’s next move. Are you excited?
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