Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose on Wednesday and was within spitting distance of record highs as positioning around the upcoming presidential election spurred sharp gains across cryptocurrency markets.
The world’s biggest crypto rose 1.2% to $72,055.0 by 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT), slightly below a lifetime high of $73,798.
Bitcoin boosted by Trump trade
Recent gains in Bitcoin and crypto markets were driven chiefly by increased speculation that Donald Trump will beat Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election, with voting set for November 5.
This trade picked up in recent weeks as prediction markets largely favored a Trump victory, while polls pointed to a tightly contested election. Analysts said the election was still too close to call.
Trump has presented a largely pro-crypto stance in his campaigning efforts, vaguely promising friendlier regulation and vowing to make America the Bitcoin capital of the world.
Trump also launched some crypto ventures of his own, to varying success. His pro-crypto stance presents a major reversal from his earlier comments that Bitcoin seemed like a scam.
Recently, Harris also pledged to a crypto regulatory framework, although she did not provide any clearer details. But her comments spurred some speculation that crypto will benefit regardless of who wins the election.
Crypto price today: altcoins mixed despite Bitcoin jump
Broader crypto prices advanced on Wednesday, although most altcoins logged middling gains as anticipation of a barrage of economic readings and central bank meetings spurred some caution.
World no.2 crypto Ether climbed 1.8% to $2,669.06, while altcoins XRP, MATIC and ADA saw mixed performance. SOL lagged, falling 2.5% as traders locked in heavy profits from the past two weeks.
Among meme tokens, DOGE added 2.7%, extending recent gains.
But caution still persisted in markets, especially with the focus turning to a string of key U.S. and euro zone economic readings due in the coming days. The Federal Reserve is also set to meet next week and potentially cut interest rates by a smaller 25 basis points.
Beyond the U.S., China’s top political body is set to meet next week to decide on more fiscal spending. The Bank of Japan is set to decide on interest rates this Thursday, while the Reserve Bank of Australia meets next week.
Bitcoin ETFs register strongest daily inflow since June
The 12 spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw daily net inflows reach $870 million on Tuesday, the largest since early June. This was primarily due to iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF, which recorded $642.87 million in net inflows, its highest single-day inflows in more than seven months.
IBIT also posted a daily trading volume of $3.36 billion, the highest since March 14. Fidelity’s FBTC had $133.86 million in inflows, while Bitwise’s BITB took in $52.49 million. VanEck’s HODL ETF attracted $16.52 million, and Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB logged $12.39 million in new funds. The remaining five bitcoin ETFs reported no inflows.
Total trading volume across the 12 ETFs climbed to $4.75 billion on Tuesday, a notable increase from Monday’s $3 billion.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.