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BTC Price Tops $52k on ETF Boom, New ATH Before Halving? – Crypto News

Published

2 years ago

February 16, 2024

Dripp

Bitcoin price rally above $50,000 this week was solely driven by interest in Bitcoin ETFs. The net inflow, which flipped into the positive region in late January, has over the last two weeks sustained a winning streak, reaching a new daily high of $632 million at one point, Chinese reporter Wu Blockchain highlighted.

QCP Capital: Strong BTC spot ETF inflows, we flipped into firm net inflow territory towards the end of Jan and saw massive sizes in the last week up to $632M in a day. While we remain bullish with liquidity rushing back into risk assets, inflation being sticky over 3% remains a… pic.twitter.com/VBHC9ZeWKi

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) February 16, 2024

This surge in the demand for the ETF helped BTC price to weather the storm amid the sticky inflation in the US. After the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Tuesday, Bitcoin price sharply dropped to $48,000.

Taking advantage of the drop, investors bought the dip propping the bellwether cryptocurrency for a remarkable run above $52,000. Trading at $52,300 towards the end of the European session on Friday, Bitcoin has remained relatively unchanged in 24 hours.

Bitcoin Weekly Report: Can Bitcoin Hit New ATH With ETF Surge

The last two weeks have been a game changer not only for the Bitcoin ETFs but also for crypto prices in general. You see, the uptick in BTC ignited multiple rallies in altcoins, with Ethereum leading the pack.

After a 14% increase in a week, ETH exchange with the dollar at $2,836 backed by $23 billion of 24-hour trading volume while boating $340 billion in market cap.

Altcoins like Solana (SOL), XRP, and Cardano (ADA) achieved significant weekly gains, demonstrating the investors’ bullish stance on the market. The cumulative market cap has topped $2 trillion, bolstered by Bitcoin’s surge to $1.026 trillion.

The total cumulative net inflow reached $4.71 billion on Thursday, according to SoSoValue, a platform monitoring the performance of the BTC ETF market. BlackRock is responsible for the majority of the inflows, with $330 million recorded on February 15.

Other ETF operators performing well include Fidelity, Ark Invest, and 21Shares, as well as Bitwise. Grayscale is adamant about reducing its ETF fees despite massive outflows totaling $6 billion so far.

Bitcoin ETFs data | SoSoValue

Overall, the Bitcoin ETF has been a success story and experts can only imagine its impact on BTC price, especially with halving due in April. According to CoinGape’s countdown, the event is anticipated in 54 days at a block height of 840,000.

After this halving, miner rewards will fall from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, subsequently shrinking Bitcoin’s supply. Halving is meant to keep Bitcoin a deflationary asset.

However, as supply shrinks and demand stays the same or increases, a parabolic rally tends to occur. The previous halving in 2020 boosted Bitcoin price from slightly above $8,000 to an all-time high (ATH) at ~$69,000 18 months later.

While price increases are not guaranteed, it has become common practice for investors to speculate on the impact of the halving. Besides, other market forces like regulations may boost or curb the performance of BTC and on a wider scope, the crypto market.

What’s Holding Bitcoin From Rising Above $60,000 In February

Bitcoin price is dealing with a tough weekly resistance, shown by the red horizontal ray on the chart at $52,264. This area rejected the bulls’ attempt to resume the uptrend after a correction from the ATH in November 2021. Therefore, if broken the winning streak will have a higher probability of carrying on to the end of February, and bring Bitcoin close to the $60,000 milestone.

Other areas of concern for traders are the resistances at $54,000 and $58,000. Bitcoin may settle and consolidate in this range ahead of the halving.

Meanwhile, blockchain data from Glassnode noticed that after Bitcoin climbed above $52,000 “short-term holder cohort responded by locking in a net realized profit/loss more than $647 million.” This marked the largest net realized profit/loss since the ATH in 2021.

With #Bitcoin breaking through the $52K region, the Short-Term Holder cohort responded by locking in a Net Realized Profit / Loss of +$647M, the largest since the 2021 ATH formation. pic.twitter.com/7wIu5IJojZ

— glassnode (@glassnode) February 16, 2024

Such profit-taking activities may be contributing to Bitcoin’s stalled action above $52,000. If interest in the ETF continues to buoy BTC price, it may be prudent to factor in a weekly close above $54,000.