Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Bitcoin hit the $74k mark on Wednesday after surging 7%.
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The rally comes as institutional investors continue to pour millions into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Bitcoin Rallies to $74k Amid the Geopolitical Instability
The cryptocurrency market has continued its excellent start to the week, with Bitcoin hitting the $74k mark a few hours ago. It has now slightly retraced but is still trading above $72k per coin.
The rally comes as U.S.-listed bitcoin ETFs added another $155 Million on Wednesday, continuing a two-week run of institutional inflows.
According to SoSoValue, the fresh inflows bring total allocations to roughly $1.47 billion over the past two weeks, marking a sharp reversal after several weeks of withdrawals earlier this year.
Investors have poured roughly $1.7 billion into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs since Feb. 24, suggesting some investors are growing more comfortable that the market may have found at least a near term floor.
However, some analysts are calling for caution as on-chain demand remains fragile. According to Glassnode, Bitcoin’s buy-side momentum has weakened significantly, with the 30-day moving average of realized profit falling about 63% since early February.
In its report, Glassnode added that the share of bitcoin supply held in profit has also slipped to roughly 57%, a level historically associated with early stages of deeper bear market conditions.
The firm added that the cost basis of short-term holders near $70,000 could act as a key behavioral ceiling, which could see several traders exit positions near breakeven.
Altcoins Post Strong Gains
Bitcoin’s rally also saw altcoins record even stronger gains. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, topped the $2,100 level after adding nearly 7% to its value.
Among the top 50 digital assets by market cap, Dogecoin and Zcash posted some of the strongest gains. Dogecoin rallied by 15% on Wednesday but has slightly retraced and now trades at $0.09615.
Thanks to the rally, the total cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.45 trillion.
