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Bitcoin breaks all-time high of $69,000 as investors flock to spot ETFs ahead of halving

Niamh Rowe
·3-min read
Chesnot—Getty Imges

Bitcoin on Tuesday morning surpassed $69,000, breaking the record price set by the original cryptocurrency during the last bull run in November 2021.

Up more than 50% already this year, Bitcoin hit $69,170.63 before falling back below $65,000 in intraday trading. Crypto's OG surpassed $1.3 trillion market cap for the second time in history yesterday, according to CoinGecko data. The coin, when peaking, had gained more than 200% from a year ago.

Mainstream financial institutions, such as BlackRock and Fidelity, issuing spot ETFs has driven investors toward the cryptocurrency. The exchange-traded products have made it easier for retail investors and IRA holders to gain exposure to Bitcoin without needing to buy it from a crypto exchange or navigate on-chain wallets.

ETF inflows reached a record high last week at $760 million and, as of Tuesday, collectively have accumulated over $50 billion in assets under management in barely two months of trading. The almost $8 billion in year-to-date Bitcoin inflows already have exceeded all inflows from 2021, according to Bank of America Global Research’s Flow Show team.

BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity Investments’ Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) have captured over 79% of total inflows into the so-called Newborn Nine—a nickname for the group of new ETFs, excluding Grayscale’s GBTC, that has seen billions of dollars in outflows. On Friday, IBIT jumped above $10 billion in assets under management after receiving a record $612 million of inflows in a single day. On Monday, FBTC saw $404.6 billion of inflows, its largest to date.

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Another major tailwind for Bitcoin is the upcoming so-called halving, which cuts the daily supply of newly minted coins by 50%—an event that has historically has caused prices to soar. As the next halving rapidly approaches on or around April 19, investors have been anticipating a similar pattern.

Following the previous three halvings, the price climbed 8,760% to $1,152, then 2,570% to $17,760, and then 594% to $67,549 by the following year.

“Over a long period of time, I think you're going to see institutions being the majority holder of Bitcoin, whereas historically, it was more retail—that’s why you've seen the price rise. On top of this, there is some anticipation that after the halving, with supply being less, the price could be much higher,” Robert Le, a crypto analyst at Pitchbook, told Fortune.

"Bitcoin reaching its all-time high is positive for the industry as a whole," Laurence Smith, a senior market strategist for Consensys, told Fortune. "Other cryptocurrencies tend to be correlated with Bitcoin and will be brought up with it, and more money flowing into the space is good news for those building, attracting more VC money."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com