3.19pm: Crypto stocks on the ascent
Cryptocurrency adjacent stocks Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) and MicroStrategy were sent higher on Monday following bitcoin's surge above $72,000 for the first time.
Nasdaq-listed Coinbase, one of the world’s largest premier exchanges, lifted over 4% in pre-market trading.
Michael Saylor's software firm MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) added 15% as it continues to benefit from holding around US$14.7 billion worth of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
On Monday, Saylor revealed Microstrategy had bought an additional 12,000 bitcoins after having raised US$782 million in a convertible debt offering, further cementing the firm's position as a bitcoin proxy stock.
1.01pm: Bitcoin claims $72,000 as Big Finance ups stake
Bloomberg data shared on Monday shows that over $55 billion of bitcoin’s total circulation is now held in exchange-traded funds managed by financial services giants including BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck and Grayscale.
It represents a major groundswell of traditional finance adoption of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, with 10 firms now holding around 4% of all bitcoin in circulation.
Year to date, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) and Fidelity’s FBTC product are currently the third and fourth most active funds in the entire ETF space, according to Bloomberf’s Eric Balchunas.
“If these were the numbers at the end of year I'd call them a success. To do it in eight weeks is simply absurd,” he commented.
First two months officially in the books (it's felt like six) and the ten bitcoin ETFs now have over $55b in assets with exactly double that in volume at $110b. If these were the numbers at the end of year I'd call them a success. To do it in eight weeks is simply absurd. pic.twitter.com/8YvzQZdYyJ
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 11, 2024
Bitcoin is currently trading at an all-time higher of $72,000, having rallied over 70% year to date.
7.30am: Bitcoin shoots above $70,000
The world’s largest cryptocurrency (BTC) has rocketed above $70,000 for the first time in its 15-year history.
Bitcoin briefly struck an ATH late on Friday after it missed out on hitting $70,000 by a handful of dollars before a spate of profit-taking sent it lower.
But weekend trades continued to move in the right direction for BTC/USD, and the pair is currently trading at around $70,200 at the time of writing.
Bitcoin hits an all-time high – Source: tradingview.com
It means bitcoin has added 66% year to date and as much as 240% year on year, suggesting more momentum is left in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) hype rally that has bolstered the bitcoin markets this year.
Data shared by Bloomberg shows that Bitcoin ETFs, which were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 10 January, now command over $56 billion of all bitcoin in circulation
This is approximately 4% of the circulating supply.
Ethereum (ETH) is close to breaching $4,000 for the first time ever, with the ETH/USD pair currently swapping for $3,980.
Global cryptocurrency market capitalisation is currently set at $2.65 trillion, with bitcoin’s market cap comprising 53.8% of the total market.