Shares of companies in the cryptocurrency industry took off in a strong opening for the week as Bitcoin (BTC) climbed past the $71,000 mark for the first time since mid-March.
America’s crypto exchange, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), saw a pre-market increase of 4.9%. MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), the holder of the largest corporate Bitcoin portfolio, climbed by 10%. Additionally, BlackRock bitcoin exchange-traded fund (iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT)) enjoyed a 6.5% boost.
The broader crypto market also saw healthy gains with the total market cap touching $2.69 trillion, according to industry data aggregator CoinMarketcap, up by 3.96% over the last 24 hours.
The surge in crypto-related stocks and Bitcoin's price is driven by a combination of factors including increased investor enthusiasm. Inflows into crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) gathered pace as the second quarter drew to a strong open, snapping a two-week outflow streak.
Meanwhile, the crypto community's focus is on the upcoming Bitcoin halving, scheduled for April 20. This event will reduce the reward for mining new blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain by 50%, decreasing from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. This halving mechanism, designed to limit the supply of Bitcoin to control its inflation, has historically led to a surge in Bitcoin's price.
Among cryptocurrency miners, notable gains were observed. Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) saw a 6.73% increase, while Hut 8 (TSX:HUT) Corp (NASDAQ:HUT), which recently merged with USBTC, climbed by 7.46%. Argo Blockchain PLC ADR (NASDAQ:ARBK), trading on the London Stock Exchange, also enjoyed a 7.35% rise.
Elsewhere, the open interest in futures tracking Bitcoin has stayed at record highs, exceeding $25 billion for several weeks. This suggests that traders are increasing their leveraged bets as they expect more price swings in the future.
Furthermore, certain tokens and projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem have seen increases as traders anticipate a rally in BTC prices following the halving event. These investments serve as a proxy to indirectly benefit from Bitcoin's growth without resorting to futures products or leverage.