Bitcoin Continues Its Massive Rise – Market Info

Over the past two weeks, the total market capitalisation exceeded €2.14 trillion. The increase in market capitalisation over a 14-day period is 18.2%. The price of Bitcoin has risen by 19.1 % over the last 14 days to a current value of over €57,800. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently around 54.6%.

Source: Coinmarketcap

Bitcoin Continues Its Massive Rise

Two weeks ago, in our cryptocurrency market overview, we informed you that Bitcoin has crossed the 50 thousand dollar mark after almost two years. However, the situation has changed significantly in the last two weeks, and Bitcoin has seemingly broken free from its chain and taken off on a sprightly ride upwards.

Indeed, on Wednesday morning, the price of Bitcoin crossed the 59-thousand-dollar mark, with the total market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency market once again surpassing the 2-trillion-US-dollar level for the first time since April 2022. According to analysts, the main factor behind this growth is positive market sentiment and consistent inflows into Bitcoin-focused spot ETFs.

For Bitcoin, reaching the price level of $58,000 marks the highest value since December 2021. Bitcoin is thus only $10,000 away from reaching its all-time high from November 2021, and the current market sentiment is significantly different than it was at the time when Bitcoin reached its previous all-time highs.

Thanks to its massive growth, Bitcoin has entered the top 10 most valuable assets in the world with a market capitalisation of $1.149 trillion. Bitcoin is larger in terms of valuation than, for example, Tesla with a capitalisation of 636 billion or Berkshire Hathaway with a capitalisation of 885 billion. Bitcoin is slowly but surely catching up to Meta Platforms, which has a market capitalisation of $1.24 trillion.

In addition to Bitcoin, however, cryptocurrency Ethereum has also fared well in recent weeks, crossing the $3,300 mark Wednesday morning and reaching its highest value since April 2022. Source

Spot ETFs Keep Breaking Records

Nine bitcoin-focused spot ETFs in the United States already have more than 300,000 bitcoins under management, valued at $17 billion, according to the latest information.

Data from research firm K33 shows that the nine ETF fund managers collectively manage a combined total of 303,002 BTC – a new all-time high, with the companies having accumulated that amount in just one and a half months. Bitcoins held by ETF fund managers now account for as much as 1.5% of the total 19.6 million bitcoins in circulation.

This statistic, however, does not account for bitcoins held by Grayscale, which transformed its existing Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), launched in 2013, into a spot ETF after winning a lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Taking into account the bitcoins held by Grayscale, the spot ETF funds collectively hold up to 746,000 BTC worth more than $40 billion.

BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has the most assets under management among the newest group of bitcoin ETF operators. According to the data, BlackRock holds as many as 132 thousand bitcoins worth $7.8 billion. At the same time, BlackRock’s IShares Bitcoin Trust saw its best day of trading yet on Monday, with daily trading volume reaching $1.3 billion. Source

Trump Changes His Stance on Cryptocurrencies

Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump said in his latest interview on Fox News that bitcoin has “taken a life of its own” in response to a question about whether the US should somehow adopt or regulate cryptocurrencies.

“You probably have to do some regulation. But many people are embracing it. More and more I’m seeing people wanting to pay with Bitcoin, and you’re seeing something that’s interesting, so I can live with it one way or the other,” Donald Trump said in his response.

In recent weeks, there has been a marked change in his attitude towards cryptocurrencies. As recently as 2021, Trump claimed that cryptocurrencies were one big disaster and that he was not a big fan of them. However, Trump has since released several of his NFT collections and also admitted ownership of the cryptocurrency Ethereum in his tax returns.

Trump’s stance on Bitcoin, however, is vastly different from his stance on central bank digital currencies (CBDC). In late January, during a campaign speech in New Hampshire, Trump stated that he would never authorise CBDC. He also stated that CBDC in the US would allow the government to have absolute control over money, allowing it to, for example, seize funds or monitor all transactions.

Although Trump is seemingly becoming more and more inclined towards Bitcoin, he reiterated at the end of the interview that the dollar is his currency. “I always liked one currency. I call it a currency. I like the dollar,” Trump said. Source

BitForex Is Allegedly in Trouble

In recent days, speculations began to spread on social networks that the Hong Kong crypto exchange BitForex has stopped withdrawals without any indication and stopped communicating with its clients. The whole situation is not helped by the fact that the day before the withdrawals were stopped, around $56 million in various cryptocurrencies were withdrawn from the crypto exchange’s wallet.

In a February 23 post on social network X, analyst ZachXBT said that three wallets belonging to crypto exchange BitForex saw an outflow of cryptocurrencies amounting to $56.5 million, with the exchange subsequently stopping processing transactions.

The crypto exchange’s account was last active on social network X on February 21. In the comments, as well as on the social network Telegram, users and clients of the platform have reported problems with their accounts, which vary from the inability to log into their account to making deposits and withdrawals. Some users also do not see the current status of their assets in their profile at all, and some users are even unable to access the website at all.

In September 2023, BitForex was among the top global crypto exchanges in terms of capitalisation. Its daily cryptocurrency trading volume was approximately $2.6 billion. Currently, CoinMarketCap does not provide live trading data on this platform.

In April 2023, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) accused BitForex of violating the country’s fund settlement laws. According to the FSA, the exchange was doing business in the country without proper registration. Since then, however, BitForex has not attracted any significant attention from regulators or the media. Source

Reddit Discloses Bitcoin and Ether Holdings

Reddit, which combines social networking and forum functions and where registered users can post links to and discuss any information, has acknowledged ownership of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum. The firm said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had invested some of its excess cash in the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

As part of the filing, the social media platform disclosed that in addition to purchasing BTC and ETH, the company also acquired the cryptocurrency Polygon (MATIC) as a form of payment for the sale of certain virtual goods. Reddit also stated that it plans to continue with a similar strategy in the future. “We hold cryptocurrencies and experiment with blockchain technology, which may subject us to exchange risk and additional tax, legal, and regulatory requirements,” the filing with the SEC states.

This makes Reddit one of the few companies, alongside the likes of MicroStrategy and Tesla, to admit to directly purchasing digital assets. The company also did not disclose how many other cryptocurrencies or tokens it owns but said in a filing with the SEC that the net book value of digital assets is immaterial. Source

Microstrategy Continues BTC Purchases

MicroStrategy Inc, an enterprise software company that has made buying bitcoin part of its corporate strategy, bought about 3,000 more BTC this month, valued at $155.4 million.

A filing with the SEC shows that the company made its latest BTC purchases between February 15 and 25, with the company now owning a total of up to 193,000 BTC with a market value of $11.4 billion.

Michael Saylor, chairman and co-founder of MicroStrategy, introduced the company’s bitcoin standard back in 2020 when the firm purchased BTC as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to holding cash. Saylor said in an interview with Bloomberg TV last week that according to him, there is no reason for the firm to start selling off BTC. Since Saylor started buying, Bitcoin has risen 460%. Source