Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high (ATH) of $69.170 on March 5.
While Bitcoin has corrected around 3% from its new all-time high or ATH price, the market-leading cryptocurrency remains trading above $67.000, an important value that is fueled by growing institutional demand and profit projections linked to the historic halving, which will arrive on the blockchain network next April.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The last time Bitcoin hit an ATH was in November 2021, when its price reached $68.879, and cryptocurrencies became a cultural phenomenon with an impact all over the world.
Bitcoin takes over Wall Street
Last year, after the ups and downs that occurred in the crypto market in 2022, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies began to recover and re-entered a bullish streak, which continues to this day. Specifically, from October to date, the price of BTC has risen by 150%. This significant growth is related to the technological development of the cryptocurrency and the recognition achieved at the regulatory level.
Grayscale Investments' victory in its lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August 2023 marked a turning point that opened up new opportunities for Bitcoin to take over Wall Street.
Grayscale, which had sued the SEC for rejecting its application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin spot ETF, defeated the SEC in court, receiving a ruling from Judge Neomi Rao, who ordered the SEC to review the digital asset management company’s application again. Judge Rao vacated the securities regulator’s order rejecting Grayscale’s initial proposal to convert GBTC into a spot ETF.
Since then, investors' perspectives on Bitcoin as an investment asset have begun to change. Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy and a prominent cryptocurrency investor, manifested that Grayscale’s victory against the SEC was paving the way for Bitcoin spot ETFs to become a reality, and with it, interest in the cryptocurrency among institutional investors to explode.
Investment products drive institutional demand
The approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs on January 10 this year boosted the cryptocurrency's bullish trend in the market. At that time, the price of BTC reached $43.000.
As these financial vehicles make it easier for investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrency in a regulated and secure manner, their approval has been accelerating institutional entry into the BTC market, which in turn has increased trading activity and improved liquidity. In addition to this, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs has given the cryptocurrency greater recognition and legitimacy, validating BTC as a global regulated investment asset.
But in addition to spot ETFs, CoinDesk highlighted that crypto derivatives products, such as those offered by CME Group, are also signaling increasing institutional adoption for Bitcoin. These products have been experiencing record volumes since mid-January, which several experts interpret as a sign that BTC and cryptocurrencies are here to transform financial markets.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has commented on the impressive growth in trading activity that Bitcoin-based investment products have seen and how unusual this is in the sector. When the price of Bitcoin reached its current all-time high (ATH), Balchunas said that it was a great time for cryptocurrency and ETFs.
“The move from 25k to 69k was due to ETF approval hopes and/or flows (as per Isabelle’s chart) and arguably ensured that IMO, ETFs (and their ecosystem) were so good at taking something and making it liquid, cheap, convenient and standardized,” the expert commented, emphasizing that both ETFs and Bitcoin benefit each other.
The approval of ETFs, the proximity of the next halving and the high valuation of Bitcoin in the market, motivated the Charles R. Blyth investment fund, run by students at Stanford University, to invest in Bitcoin and convinced Financial Times financial columnist Stuart Kirk that BTC is a good option for diversifying investment portfolios.
Continue reading: Stanford University's Blyth Fund Now Invests in Bitcoin
IMPORTANT: The content of this article is for informational purposes only and, in no case, what is written here should be taken as investment advice or recommendations. Bit2Me News reminds you that before making any investment you should educate yourself and know where you invest your money, as well as the pros and cons of the system. We separate ourselves from the actions and consequences that ignorance may entail. If you decide to invest in this or another asset class, you are solely responsible for the consequences that your decisions and actions may have.
