Bitcoin
topped $72,000 for the first time, advancing for a sixth straight day and taking gains this year to almost 70% on the back of massive inflows into US exchange-traded funds.
The original cryptocurrency rose as much as 4% to $72,234 on Monday. Smaller tokens like Ether, Solana and Avalanche also advanced. The crypto gains came even as equities traded broadly lower ahead of a key report on US inflation.
Bitcoin’s
record-breaking rally
appears to be creating around 1,500 new “
millionaire wallets
” daily, according to crypto analytics firm Kaiko Research. The wallets are digital addresses on the Bitcoin blockchain, in which users can store cryptocurrency.
Investors have poured a net almost $10 billion into a batch of new
Bitcoin ETFs
since they launched in the US two months ago, igniting a broad surge in crypto markets.
Digital assets
scored more wins on Monday, as the London Stock Exchange confirmed it will accept applications for admitting Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded notes and Thailand’s securities regulator said retail investors will be allowed to buy overseas crypto ETFs.
The success of the crop of Bitcoin
ETFs
add to a range of bullish signals for cryptoassets. Perhaps the most anticipated milestone is the quadrennial “
halving
” scheduled for April, when Bitcoin’s supply growth will be reduced by half. Other technical indicators point to growing interest among both institutional and retail investors. Open interest on Chicago-based CME Group’s Bitcoin futures market has jumped 44% from this year’s low, while a rebound in the so-called funding rate signals that traders are increasingly willing to pay a premium for opening leveraged long positions in Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy, the enterprise software firm that has made buying Bitcoin part of its corporate strategy, said on Monday that it spent $822 million purchasing more tokens from Feb 26 through March 10.