In Asia, trading on Tuesday, Bitcoin, as well as Ethereum, reached new highs, with anticipation for cryptocurrencies acceptance and concerns over inflation boosting enthusiasm as well as channeling greater inflows into this investment market. Bitcoin reached a high of USD 68,564 in Asia’s afternoon trade sessions, while Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market price, had previously reached USD 4,825. Both have almost doubled since June and have gained about 70% versus the US dollar since the beginning of October. “We get the impression that the marketplace has transformed,” stated Matthew Dibb, Chief Operating Officer of Singapore-based crypto asset management Stack Funds, citing a substantial increase in demand from institutional investors and even retirement funds.
He stated that individuals are now realizing that not possessing any stake, even if it’s a tiny bit, is probably not a smart thing in the long run, so they’re forced to invest at this rate. Since the debut of futures-based bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States last month, trade momentum has been building, raising anticipation of flow-driven increases. Capital flows into bitcoin assets as well as funds have reached a new high of USD 6.4 billion this year, according to statistics from digital asset management CoinShares, and totaled USD 95 million last week.
Other encouraging news has included Grayscale, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency management firm, announcing intentions to turn its flagship bitcoin trust into a spot-bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Grayscale also proposed to launch a “future of finance” fund last week, which would follow firms participating in burgeoning digitalization opportunities. Chris Weston, the Head of Research at brokerage Pepperstone said that cryptocurrency is where the quick money is at, Ether is moving at an astonishing pace, and it is expected to remain long, customers are net-long, with 79 % of open holdings being long-held, and he has a feeling the USD 5k party for Ethereum may start soon.
Others, meanwhile, have warned that the cost of financing long positions has climbed in recent times, as per trading platform BitMEX – sometimes even a harbinger to a pullback. Nonetheless, the changes have propelled the token by more than 1680%, up from its March 2020 lows, helping to push the overall market value of cryptocurrency past USD 3 trillion, as per cryptocurrency pricing and statistics aggregator CoinGecko. CoinMarketCap estimated it to be USD 2.94 trillion. In any case, genuine believers, known as “holders” in the cryptocurrency industry, have felt justified and remain enthusiastic. “They threw all of it at the monster, and it still moves,” remarked Brian Roemmele, a payment analyst and sometimes presenter of the Around the Coin podcast, on Twitter.