Investing.com-- Bitcoin prices rose past key levels on Tuesday, boosted largely by signs of sustained capital inflows into spot exchange-traded funds which were launched earlier this year.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency jumped 8.1% to $55,621.5 by 20:55 ET (01:55 GMT), trading at its highest level in more than two years. The token was now less than $14,000 away from a lifetime high hit during a bull run in late-2021.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum rose 3.6% to $3,217.48- its highest level since early-2022.
Gains in Bitcoin, along with the broader crypto market, came as a report from digital asset manager Coinshares showed crypto investment products saw a fourth straight week of capital inflows.
The report showed digital asset investment products saw weekly inflows of $598 million in the week to February 23, with Bitcoin ETFs commanding a lion’s share of the inflows.
Bitcoin products saw $570 million of inflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) seeing $543.5 million of inflows. This largely offset sharp outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (NYSE:GBTC), as the trust grappled with a slew of new entrants to the Bitcoin ETF (TSX:EBIT) space.
Coinshares also noted that short interest in Bitcoin was building in the wake of recent price increases. The token is trading up about 24% so far in 2024, after more than doubling in price through 2023.
Bitcoin was also supported by MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)- the biggest corporate holder of the token, announcing that it had recently purchased 3,000 tokens for about $155 million.
Bitcoin’s stellar rally this year was spurred chiefly by the recent U.S. approval of ETFs that directly track the price of the cryptocurrency.
But while the approvals drew a slew of institutional capital into the token, retail trading volumes have remained relatively muted, especially as the crypto industry grapples with a mass loss of faith after a string of high-profile scandals and bankruptcies.
Trading volumes also remained at a fraction of the highs seen during 2021 and early-2022, according to Investing.com data.
Still, increases in crypto prices spilled over into crypto stocks. No. 1 U.S. exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), miner Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) and MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) surged between 15% and 22% on Monday.