By CultureBanx Team
- Bitcoin funds recorded $133M of inflows as the cryptocurrency market cap reached price levels not seen in 18 months
- Investor expectations are that the SEC will approve a bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund, or spot ETF’s
Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, was up more than 6% over the past 24 hours, trading above $42,000, according to CoinMarketCap, hitting its highest level in 18 months. Investors are beginning to look ahead to a lower interest rate environment and key regulatory approvals that could make the crypto asset more mainstream. On the backdrop of this bullish run, it is important to note blockchain technology acceptance is steadily pushing forward and now the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is poised to make some major changes.
Why This Matters: Bitcoin is now up 150% for the year, though it remains far from its historical high of $69,000 in November of 2021. As retail investors have exited the market, many institutional ones have entered and what is left is a mix of semi-professional, professional, and prop shops. These traders stay on to maintain liquidity and act mostly in a market maker role.
Bitcoin funds recorded $133 million of inflows and Ether products $31 million, as the first and second cryptocurrencies by market cap reached price levels not seen in 18 months. Traditional markets generally cycle within a 10–20 year period, and cryptocurrencies are no exception to such cycles. The only difference is the speed and intensity at which it occurs.
Regionally, Canada, Germany and the U.S. accounted for the most substantial inflows, adding $79 million, $57 million and $54 million, respectively. Hong Kong was the main outlier, registering outflows of just $15 million.
What’s Next: Investor expectations are that the SEC will approve a bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund, or spot ETF’s which have them very excited. This would allow traditional investors to have exposure to the digital asset without actually owning it. BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale are among the firms seeking approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for both spot bitcoin and spot ether ETF applications. The SEC faces a January 10 deadline to approve applications for such funds.
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