8 months ago
22 ARTICLE AD
Bitcoin broke through $68,000 and was less than $1,000 away from its all-time high.
After more than two years, Bitcoin (BTC) price is attempting to rally beyond its all-time high (ATH) fueled by heightened institutional demand. With the crypto cash inflow at its peak for more than two years, Bitcoin price is now on the cusp of a major uproar. Moreover, the highly anticipated fourth Bitcoin halving is about 46 days from happening, which will reduce the daily BTC supply from 900 to 450 coins.
Notably, the spot Bitcoin ETFs, led by iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT) offered by BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK), have been consuming Bitcoins worth around $600 million on a daily basis for the past few weeks. Despite the notable outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) due to its high operating fees, more wealth managers have continued to increase their Bitcoin exposure via spot ETFs.
BlackRock Intensifies Its Bitcoin Demand
The adoption of Bitcoin by BlackRock, a leading fund manager with more than $9 trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM), has been a huge game changer in the crypto mass adoption. Moreover, BlackRock has a significant influence on the United States economy.
On Monday, BlackRock filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to inform the agency that its Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio will begin investing in Bitcoin through the approved spot ETFs.
“The Fund may acquire shares in exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) that seek to reflect generally the performance of the price of bitcoin by directly holding bitcoin (“Bitcoin ETPs”), including shares of a Bitcoin ETP sponsored by an affiliate of BlackRock,” the filing noted.
BlackRock’s move to purchase more Bitcoins from its in-house funds is expected to influence other Wall Street firms to follow suit. Moreover, Bitcoin has demonstrated its potential to hedge against high fiat inflation and its ability to store wealth against global geopolitical threats.
Wall Street firms continue to file for Bitcoin ETF exposure in their in-house investment funds. You're going to see a lot of this in coming months. After the close of trading today, BlackRock filed with the SEC for its Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio:
"The Fund may…
— MacroScope (@MacroScope17) March 4, 2024
As of this writing, BlackRock’s IBIT held around 164,501 Bitcoins worth about $10.1 billion. With a sponsor fee of around 0.25 percent, the IBIT has continued to attract more cash inflows, especially due to its deep liquidity and reputation.
BTC Price Short-Term Expectations
For the first time in the history of Bitcoin’s macro bull rallies, the flagship coin has consistently closed above the 0.618 Fibonacci Retracement before the halving event. As a result, it is safe to assume the Bitcoin bulls are in control and this bull cycle will be more intensive than the 2021 season.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin price has reached a psychological resistance level around the ATH and could retrace before continuing with the bullish trend. Furthermore, Bitcoin’s dominance on the weekly time frame has been depicting short-term weakness. Consequently, crypto cash rotation could favor the altcoin market in the coming weeks.
