Bitcoin surprised and delighted over the weekend as it surged through $41,000, continuing a strong run of recent form.
The cryptoasset broken through its highest level in 19 months (since early April 2022) as investors continued to gear up for the potential launch of the bitcoin ETF market, writes Simon Peters, cryptoasset market analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro.
Bitcoin began last week just above $37,100 but saw strong gains across the seven days, for a 10.5% overall gain.
Ether saw a similarly strong week for gains, rising 9.2% over the week. The cryptoasset began the week just below $2,050 and is now trading on eToro around $2,231. Elsewhere on eToro, bitcoin cash saw a price surge rising close to 9% this morning.
Week Ahead
ETF speculation is going to continue to drive behavior in the crypto market this week as investors buy into the narrative of the transformative impact opening the market to institutional investors will have on the ecosystem.
In terms of on-diary events that could affect the market’s performance, this week is generally quiet. However, US employment figures are reported on Friday which have in recent times had a tendency to stir markets thanks to the implications for interest rate levels.
Eye-catching stories
Grayscale gears up for ETFs with new hire
Crypto investing firm Grayscale is gearing up to compete in the potential new bitcoinETF space with a new hire from asset manager Invesco. The firm has hired John Hoffman, a 17-year veteran of the fund manager to lead Grayscale’s distribution and partnerships team.
MicroStrategy loading up on bitcoin
Tech firm MicroStrategy has increased its holdings in bitcoin by $593 million as it sees the bull market pushing forward. This brings the firm’s holdings to around $6.6 billion-worth of the cryptoasset at current prices.
JPMorgan’s crypto token ready for interbank transactions
Major investment bank JPMorgan’s JPM Coin has launched on Partoir, a blockchain-based banking settlement system and could now be used in bank-to-bank institutional transfers. The firm says the token could be used to settle billions of interbank transactions in the future.
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