Key Points
- Bitcoin (BTC) price reaches a new 2-year high at $54,360, fueled by factors such as Bitcoin ETF inflows and positive investor sentiment.
- Bitcoin investment products recorded $570 million in inflows and MicroStrategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, acquired an additional 3,000 BTC.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged on Feb. 23, marking a continuation of its 2024 uptrend and establishing a new 2-year high of $54,360.
This price movement is driven by several factors such as steady inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, the approaching supply halving, and overall positive sentiment from both retail and institutional investors.
Driving Forces Behind Bitcoin’s Rally
As reported by CoinShares, 99% of all inflows over the past week were recorded by BTC investment products.
Bitcoin received inflows totaling $569.5 million, pushing the global assets under management to a staggering $67.5 billion.
Bitcoin ETFs also continue to attract inflows, with a total of $5.5 billion since their market introduction on Jan. 11, as per data from Yahoo Finance.
Consequently, crypto products have garnered a net of $5.8 billion since they started trading.
Alongside Bitcoin’s price surge, Bitcoin ETFs are also experiencing a rally.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF IBIT saw a 5% increase shortly after Wall Street opened on Monday, Feb. 26, reaching a new all-time high.
Moreover, MicroStrategy, the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin, contributed to the bullish institutional interest in Bitcoin.
On Feb. 26, the company’s founder and chairman, Micheal Saylor, announced on a social media platform that MicroStrategy had purchased an additional 3,000 BTC for a total of $155 million at an average price of $51,813 between Feb. 15 and Feb. 25.
The business intelligence firm now holds 193,000 Bitcoin, purchased for $6.09 billion at an average price of $31,544.
Furthermore, the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have accumulated a total of 5,500 BTC since their launch on Jan. 11, according to data from Farside Investors.
It is likely that institutional investors’ continued accumulation of Bitcoin will influence retail traders to purchase more BTC in anticipation of a price increase.
Coinglass data reveals a growing interest in the Bitcoin futures market, which has increased by 102% from mid-October to the current value of $23.43 billion.
This is close to the record high of $24 billion reached in November 2021 when Bitcoin hit all-time highs above $69,000.
The increase in BTC OI confirms the current volatility in Bitcoin’s price and indicates renewed investor interest in the leading cryptocurrency.
As a result of the recent price surge, Bitcoin short positions totaling $41.85 million were liquidated on Feb. 26 against $9.7 million long liquidations, as per data from Coinglass.
Approximately $39 million of Bitcoin shorts were liquidated in the last four hours alone.
Investors anticipate the current bullish price action of Bitcoin to continue as inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs increase and the supply halving event approaches.
