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Bitcoin The index jumped to start the week, inching closer to all-time highs after the rally stalled over the weekend.
The major cryptocurrency recently rose 9% to $68,635.20, according to Coin Metrics. At one point, it rose as high as $68,848.62, its highest level since November 2021 — the last time it reached a record high. ether Offer more than 5% to $3,650.59.
Both currencies are coming off their best week in almost a year — with Bitcoin up about 21% and Ethereum up 16% — but they paused their runs over the weekend as the market absorbed two days of sharp outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) that were offset by… Through inflows into other “nascent” Bitcoin ETFs.
“With the birth of the nine new ETFs, the big moves now tend to happen during the regular trading week rather than on weekends,” said Anthony Trenchev, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Nexo.
He added: “What we see today… may be a repeat of what happened early last week when Bitcoin rose by $10,000 in a matter of two days.” “We are in the kind of environment where a day or two of sideways consolidation can precede explosive price action thanks to voracious demand for these new spot ETFs.”
Bitcoin has leveraged other tokens, especially meme coins. Dogecoin It rose 32%, while the Shiba Inu rose 95%. Analysts point to it as evidence that retail investors, who were absent from much of the recent cryptocurrency rally, are starting to return to the cryptocurrency market. Last week, weekly trading volume for meme tokens rose to its highest level since late 2021, according to cryptocurrency data provider Kaiko.
Some cryptocurrency stocks have ridden the Bitcoin wave, such as Coinbase And The precise strategyWhich rose 11% and 23.6%, respectively. However, miners halted their rally, giving up earlier gains as the short-term impact of the upcoming halving in April – when mining companies' revenues will be cut – weighed on investors. Clean Spark And Crypto mining They fell by more than 7% each, while… Iris Energy And Digital Marathon Both fell approximately 5% Riot pads It fell nearly 7%.
Some analysts have suggested that although Bitcoin may continue to rise in the short term, it may cool off in the next few weeks, as unrealized profit margins approach extreme levels. The real price of Bitcoin is only about $42,700, according to CryptoQuant.
However, long-term investors are confident that the combination of rising demand for Bitcoin via new US ETFs and expected supply tightening following the April halving event will push the price of Bitcoin to a new all-time high.
Cryptocurrencies also received a bid from the stock market, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hitting an all-time high on Friday, becoming the latest major stock indexes to reach a record closing high this year.
Although March may be a month of side-grinding for Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency is benefiting from a productivity boom driven by artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, which he expects to continue, said David Dong, head of institutional research at Coinbase.
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