Bitcoin Hits 1-Year High Amid ETF Optimism

The market leading digital asset surged to a high of $31,300 on Friday, gaining 20% over a seven-day period.

Bitcoin extended its June rally on Friday on the back of several new spot Bitcoin ETF applications, which market participants believe are “breathing life” into the digital asset market. 

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Bitcoin surged to $31,317 on Friday – a level last seen in June 2022.

Most analysts attributed the rally to renewed optimism around a potential spot Bitcoin ETF, which is still yet to see the light of day. BlackRock’s application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 15 to list the “iShares Bitcoin Trust” set off a fresh wave of applications from institutional investors who seized the opportunity to reapply for similar products.

So far, the SEC has only approved Bitcoin Futures ETFs under the premise that they are less prone to market manipulation given that the market for the underlying assets is under the surveillance of CME. 

Although these Bitcoin futures ETFs started out strong, trading volumes dwindled following a tumultuous year for crypto prices. However, the recent Bitcoin ETF hype appears to have led to a resurgence of interest in these products, with the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) seeing its largest weekly inflow in a year.

BITO, the first Bitcoin futures ETF to be approved in the U.S., recorded $65.3 million in weekly inflows, taking its assets past $1 billion. 

The Bitcoin Futures ETF $BITO had its biggest weekly inflow in a year as assets top $1b again. It also traded half a billion in shares on Friday, which it’s only done about 5 times before via @SirYappityyapp pic.twitter.com/Xrq0lUaaTO

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 25, 2023

The SEC also approved the first-ever leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF CoinDesk reported on Friday, Volatility Shares’ 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX). The ETF will correspond with the CME Bitcoin Futures Daily Roll Index and begin trading on Tuesday.