First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Tops $71K After Best Day for ETF Inflows Since March

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

Latest Prices

Top Stories

BTC crossed $71,000 early Wednesday after spot bitcoin ETFs had their best day of inflows since March. Bitcoin has risen about 3% in the last 24 hours, while the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), representing a broad measurement of the digital asset market, is up around 2.8%. Bitcoin peaked at $71,341 at the start of the European morning, its highest since May 21. It subsequently pulled back to trade around $70,900. Nevertheless, BTC is showing a green candle for the fifth consecutive day, its longest such stretch since March.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw over $880 million in inflows on Tuesday, the most since March and the second-highest since they went live in January, provisional data shows. Fidelity’s FBTC led the way with $378 million, while BlackRock’s IBIT took on $270 million. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said on X that the ETFs have taken on a net $3.3 billion in the past four weeks, with a year-to-date figure of more than $15 billion. The increased activity comes a few weeks after U.S. spot ether ETF filings were approved and amid a positive outlook for cryptocurrencies from the ongoing U.S. presidential campaign.

Bain Capital Crypto plans to start a second fund according to a filing with the SEC, more than two years after its first in March 2022. That $560 million fund launched just before the collapse of Do Kwon’s luna triggered a massive rout in the crypto market. Despite the ensuing crypto winter, Bain Capital was an active investor throughout 2022 and 2023, participating in rounds such as Sam Altman’s $115 million Worldcoin fundraise, privacy protocol Nocturne Labs and decentralized exchange aggregator Flood. The first fund focused on early-stage investments and liquid tokens across DeFi and Web3.

Chart of the Day

• Bitcoin open interest has spiked over $2 billion since Monday to nearly $37 billion, marking the largest such increase since early April.

• Over $11 billion in BTC futures bets are live on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), followed by crypto exchange Binance at $8 billion.

• Open interest refers to the number of unsettled futures contracts and indicates a rise in money entering the market, usually a sign of further expected volatility.

• Source – TradingView

Trending Posts