©Reuters
Investing.com — Prices rose above key levels on Tuesday, driven largely by signs of continued inflows into spot exchange-traded funds created earlier this year.
The world's largest cryptocurrency rose nearly 10% to $56,256.9 by 9:48 pm ET (02:48 GMT), trading at its highest level in more than two years. The token is currently less than $14,000 away from its lifetime high during the late 2021 bull market.
The world's second-largest cryptocurrency rose 3.6% to $3,217.48, its highest level since early 2022.
A report from digital asset management firm CoinShares showed capital inflows into crypto investment products for the fourth consecutive week, adding to the rise in Bitcoin along with the broader crypto market.
Weekly inflows into digital asset investment products reached $598 million in the week ending February 23, with Bitcoin ETFs accounting for the majority of those inflows, according to the report.
Bitcoin products saw $570 million in inflows, while BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:) saw $543.5 million in inflows. This largely offsets the sharp outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (NYSE:) as the trust grapples with a number of new entrants to the Bitcoin ETF space.
CoinShare also noted that short interest in Bitcoin has increased following recent price increases. The token is up about 24% so far in 2024 after more than doubling in price by 2023.
Bitcoin is also supported by the largest corporate holder of the token, MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:), which recently announced the purchase of 3,000 tokens for approximately $155 million.
Bitcoin's incredible rally this year was largely fueled by the US' recent approval of ETFs that directly track the price of the cryptocurrency.
However, while the approval brought a large influx of institutional investors into the token, retail trading volumes have remained relatively low, especially as the crypto industry faces a massive loss of confidence following a series of high-profile scandals and bankruptcies. It remains at a slump.
Volume was also a fraction of the highs reached in 2021 and early 2022, according to data from Investing.com.
Still, the rise in virtual currency prices has spilled over into virtual currency stocks.No.1 exchange in the US coinbase global Inc. (NASDAQ:), miners Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:) and MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:) soared 15% to 22% on Monday.
