By 07:55 ET (12:55 GMT), Bitcoin had surged by 11.7% to $57,232.0, putting the world’s largest cryptocurrency on pace for its best two-day rally so far this year. World no.2 cryptocurrency Ethereum had also risen by 6.6% to $3,265.04.
The increases boosted crypto-linked stocks on Tuesday, pointing to an extension in gains made in the prior session. Top U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), as well as crypto miners Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) and CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), all gained prior to the opening bell in New York.
Gains in Bitcoin, along with the broader digital coin market, came as a report from digital asset manager Coinshares showed crypto investment products saw a fourth straight week of capital inflows.
Digital asset investment products were bolstered by inflows of $598 million in the week to Feb. 23, according to the report.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds commanded the lion’s share of the inflows. Bitcoin products registered $570 million of inflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust notching $543.5 million of inflows. This largely offset sharp outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, as it grappled with a slew of new entrants to the Bitcoin ETF 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 cryptocurrency, announcing that it had recently purchased 3,000 tokens for about $155 million.
Bitcoin’s stellar performance this year has been spurred on in part by the recent U.S. approval of ETFs that directly track the price of the cryptocurrency.
The approvals have drawn a slew of institutional capital into the token. However, retail trading volumes have remained relatively muted, in an indication that faith in the crypto industry has potentially been dented by a string of high-profile scandals and bankruptcies.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
