Bitcoin Blasts Past $56,000 Amid Massive ETF Inflows, Microstrategy Buys, What Next?

Bitcoin’s price hit a two-year high with the halving just a few weeks away. With fear still left in the market, BTC prices could run up before the halving.

Bitcoin (BTC) broke above the $56,000 level today, setting a new high after two bearish years, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The flagship crypto is trading at around $55,900, up over 6% in the last 24 hours. Earlier today, Bitcoin took the Internet by storm as it crossed $53,000 and then $54,000. The next highs came only a few hours after the previous surges.

TLDR

Bitcoin’s price hit a 2-year high above $55,900.
The price surge comes amid bullish news like massive inflows into Bitcoin spot ETFs and MicroStrategy’s recent BTC purchases.
Bitcoin ETFs have taken in over $8 billion in assets under management in less than a month.
MicroStrategy bought another 3,000 BTC, now holding around 135,000 Bitcoin.
Analysts believe Bitcoin could hit $60,000 ahead of its next halving in just a few weeks, based on historical price patterns after previous halvings.

As Bitcoin reclaims the key level, other major coins also see price rally. In the last 24 hours, Ethereum (ETH) surged 2.3% to around $3,100, Solana (SOL) was up 5.6% to around $109, Avalanche (AVAX) surged almost 5%, and Binance Coin (BNB) was up 2.5%. Meanwhile, the crypto market cap retook the $2 trillion level after being down below $2 trillion during the weekend.

The surge comes amid several bullish news, particularly the massive inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the recent Bitcoin purchases of MicroStrategy.

Bitcoin ETFs Are Red Hot

According to the latest updates from BitMEX Research, over $232 million were poured into all the spot Bitcoin ETFs (excluding Grayscale Bitcoin Trust) on Friday. At the same time, the outflow of GBTC was $44 million, the lowest level since the first trading day.

Data from HODL15Capital reveals that the volume of Blackrock Bitcoin ETFshare and iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) topped $618 million. The fund now ranks the eight-largest ETF, just behind Vanguard SP500 ETF.

✅ 1st Update for 2/26 #Bitcoin ETF Holdings👇

Purple highlight = My estimate 🧮 $IBIT $FBTC $ARKB $BITB $BRRR $BTCO $HODL $EZBC $BTCW $GBTC pic.twitter.com/IbZ78TuFc9

— HODL15Capital 🇺🇸 (@HODL15Capital) February 27, 2024

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Bitcoin ETFs potentially may surpass gold ETFs in less than two years, given the rapid accumulation of all the available funds.

Balchunas noted in a recent post on X that spot Bitcoin EFTs, despite making a debut less than a month ago, have taken in over $8 billion in assets under management while gold ETFs have bled with reported $3.6 billion outflow.

Gold’s Pain is Bitcoin ETFs’ Gain in Store of Value Smackdown.. new from me on how gold being in the gutter is like the cherry on top for bitcoin fans who just got to witness the biggest ETF launch ever. Decent chance bitcoin ETFs pass gold ETFs in aum in less than 2yrs w… pic.twitter.com/rXJra1dyhF

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 26, 2024

In addition to massive ETF inflows, a Bitcoin whale has reportedly acquired more Bitcoin today. MicroStrategy, the tech firm known for its bullish outlook for Bitcoin, bought 3,000 BTC, worth around $155 million at purchase time. With this new buy, the company’s unrealized profits now stand at around $4 billion, as estimated by CryptoQuant.

It appears that MicroStrategy has made “DCA” in BTC since November last year. The firm acquired 14,620 BTC between November 30 and December 26, and later added another 850 bitcoin to its holding by the end of January this year.

MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 3,000 BTC for ~$155 million at an average price of $51,813 per #bitcoin. As of 2/25/24, @MicroStrategy now hodls 193,000 $BTC acquired for ~$6.09 billion at an average price of $31,544 per bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/micudbYf3P

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) February 26, 2024

Bitcoin Eyes $60,000 Ahead of Halving

With Bitcoin halving inching closer, there are lots of speculations surrounding the price of Bitcoin pre-halving and post-halving over the last few months.

The Bitcoin halving is the process of halving the block reward of Bitcoin mining, which usually takes place every four years and is expected to take place in just a few weeks. In this upcoming halving, Bitcoin’s block reward will be reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

With a fixed maximum supply of 21 million BTC, Bitcoin halving will slow down the amount of BTC put into circulation.

In theory, this process impacts supply-demand dynamics and drives Bitcoin’s growth. That said, the important, highly anticipated period is post-halving. Analysts believe that the halving will be the key catalyst that boosts the market given the rapid accumulation by Wall Street funds.

In all three previous halvings, BTC always set a new record high within 12 to 18 months following each event.For instance, the latest halving, which took place on May 11, 2020, saw Bitcoin reaching its cycle peak of $69,000 in November, 2021.

If Bitcoin continues to follow its historical pattern, the $60,000 mark could be possible. However, market observers warn of potential price volatility ahead of the important event. Regardless, higher BTC prices are here, and the crypto complex looks ready to rally in 2024.