Bitcoin has surged to record highs above $72,000, driven by a remarkable influx of funds into cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs).
CoinShares analyst James Butterfill reported on March 11 that crypto investment products had attracted a record $2.7 billion in inflows as of March 8.
Year-to-date, crypto ETPs have attracted $10.3 billion in inflows, almost matching the total of $10.6 billion for all of 2021.
Bitcoin dominated these inflows, attracting $2.6 billion year-to-date and accounting for 14% of the total global crypto assets under management (AUM).
On March 11, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $72,900, before stabilizing around $72,000, marking a 6.9% increase over the week and a 29% increase over the month, according to TradingView data.
The surge in ETP inflows has been largely driven by increasing investment in recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, which have now seen over $110 billion in total volume traded since their launch on Jan. 11.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that five U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold over $2 billion in assets under management (AUM), with Bitwise’s BITB fund being the latest addition.
“Out of around 3,500 US ETPs, only 445 have over $2 billion in assets,” Seyffart added.
In a note seen by Cointelegraph, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore predicted that the current rally could push Bitcoin’s price towards $80,000 in the coming months, suggesting that the crypto asset would be well supported in any potential downturns.
Mikkel Mørch, founder of digital asset investment fund ARK36, noted that Bitcoin’s new all-time high coincided with the London Stock Exchange accepting BTC and Ether exchange-traded notes, as well as an increased willingness from the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority to embrace new crypto-related financial products.
Mørch sees the growing regulatory acceptance of crypto assets globally, the upcoming halving event, and the continued growth of Bitcoin ETF inflows as signaling a new era of growth and mainstream adoption for cryptocurrencies.
“The combined impact of these factors is likely to sustain the rally and promote a more robust and diversified investment environment for digital assets,” he said.
