- Bitcoin rises to a three-month high.
- One analyst said this week could be big for Bitcoin and crypto assets.
Bitcoin soared above $69,000 overnight on Sunday, reaching its highest price in three months.
The price surge capped off Bitcoin’s strongest week in two months, adding further excitement to a bubbling market.
As Bitcoin hovers near $69,000, analysts are watching to see if the upward momentum continues.
With Bitcoin inching closer to its $73,000 peak, market observers are weighing the odds of a new price record this year.
Here’s what analysts say are the tailwinds boosting Bitcoin’s sail.
ETF demand
Mena Theodorou, co-founder of crypto exchange Coinstash, said Bitcoin’s rise has been fuelled by rising demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
Institutional buyers amassed $2.1 billion worth of Bitcoin ETFs last week.
That inflow was backed by 36,500 Bitcoin, more than 80 times the amount added to the daily supply via mining.
“We’re seeing investors buying Bitcoin exponentially faster than it can be mined,” Theodorou said.
Rising ETF demand is only part of the broader institutional push that could take Bitcoin to a new peak price.
That’s according to Jonathan de Wet, chief investment officer at crypto trading firm Zerocap.
“Institutionalisation is the short-term catalyst that gets us above all-time highs ― combined with easing monetary policy into 2025 for follow-through,” de Wet said.
The Zerocap chief highlighted MicroStrategy’s plans to become a Bitcoin bank and the SEC’s approval of options on Bitcoin ETFs as part of the institutional push.
Market euphoria
The US stock market and gold trading hit new all-time highs last week.
With the US total outstanding public debt rising by almost half a trillion dollars since last month, traders are showing a bigger appetite for riskier assets as concerns mount over the sustainability of fiscal debts.
Analysts at crypto ETP provider ETC Group say bullish sentiment has returned.
They pointed to their Cryptoasset Sentiment Index which has risen to its highest level since March.
Crypto’s peak happened in March as the market topped $2.8 trillion in size and Bitcoin reached above $73,000.
“Bitcoin is increasingly regarded as an alternative asset to US Treasuries, which could have contributed to the latest rise in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets,” the ETC Group analysts said.
What happens next
Bitcoin is still subject to market swings and geopolitical factors.
For example, some $5.5 billion in Bitcoin options will expire on October 25.
Analysts at crypto exchange CEX.IO noted that it’s the second-largest Bitcoin options expiry to date.
If Bitcoin’s momentum falters, the massive options expiry could tilt its price downwards, towards $64,000.
“However, if Bitcoin breaks above $70,000, options sellers may need to hedge by purchasing Bitcoin, potentially boosting bullish momentum,” the CEX.IO analysts noted.
Market observers also point to Bitcoin’s tendency to do well in the last quarter of the year as another clue.
Theodorou noted that “it’s shaping up to be a big week for crypto markets.”
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin has retraced slightly today and is trading at $67,209.
- Ether has traded flat in the last 24 hours and is at $2,663
What we are reading
- Three signs crypto markets are ‘screaming risk-on’ as Bitcoin nears $70,000 ― DL News
- Wen Banana Zone? ― Milk Road
- Vitalik Has Gone ‘Founder Mode.’ Is This Just What Ethereum Needs? ― Unchained
- BTC whales accumulating like it’s 2020 ― Milk Road
- Fraudster who used phony Coinbase platforms to steal millions sentenced to five years ― DL News
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. To share tips or information about stories, please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
