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Bitcoin continues to fly high on boost from launch of first-ever ETF

Bitcoin continues to fly high on boost from launch of first-ever ETF
The $72,500 and then the $89,000 levels are near-term resistance levels north of $65,000 for bitcoin. Photo: Getty (Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty Images)

Cryptocurrencies were broadly higher on Monday as the week is off to a promising start for bitcoin, which hit a new all-time high last week.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was up 3.7% to trade at $62,876 (£45,665). It is sitting comfortably above $60,000, having crossed $66,000 last week.

Ethereum (ETH-USD), the world’s second largest crypto by market cap, was up 0.4% to trade at $4,132.

Bitcoin’s upward trajectory began when investors become confident that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the crypto’s futures contracts.

Watch: What is bitcoin?

Days later, the first-ever bitcoin futures ETF in the US — The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF which tracks CME bitcoin futures — made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange (^AMZI).

"The cryptocurrency market is again on track to outshine the ever-vibrant equities... the large part of the gains have been propelled by the US SEC’s nod to introduce bitcoin ETF, effectively increasing the market participation with a launch of a new product on a conventional stock exchange," said Kunal Sawhney, CEO of Kalkine Group.

Bitcoin was up on Monday morning. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK
Bitcoin was up on Monday morning. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK

Meanwhile, Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, said: "The introduction of bitcoin-linked ETFs has been extremely beneficial to the cryptocurrency markets" and more money is flowing into the digital sector as more investors gain access to ETFs.

The $72,500 and then the $89,000 levels are near-term resistance levels north of $65,000, Aslam said, adding that bitcoin is aiming for $100,000, which it could well het by the end of the year.

“On the other hand, while bulls are on the rise, investors should keep in mind that countries remain divided in the blockchain space, with Beijing outlawing cryptocurrencies while Western nations launch ETFs and push digital coins to new highs,” he added.

He believes one disadvantage of the recent price hike is that bitcoin miners are relocating to the US to establish their operations at a time when the world is undergoing an energy crisis.

This is likely to put pressure on electricity prices, as was the case in New York, where the city supplied between 10% and 15% of its electricity supply to miners, putting a strain on the grid, he said.

Meme token Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD) has also been making news.

Read more: Elon Musk reveals his crypto buys

It had rallied by more than 50% to hit an all-time high of $0.000044 on Sunday, becoming the eleventh biggest cryptocurrency in the market.

"A market-wide buying has been seen in many crypto-assets with the meme coin shiba inu rallying 50%, capturing a market capitalisation of approximately $21bn after it added a fresh bouquet of 1 million traders in the past week," said Sawhney.

He said investors are seemingly accumulating cryptocurrencies, "at a time when a section of heavyweight corporations report better-than-expected quarterly results."

With the per unit price of bitcoin scaling fresh all-time highs, now and then, the retail section of investors has turned focus on emerging crypto-assets."

Shiba Inu took a bit of a hit, though, when Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said he had not invested in the token. He instead reiterated his support for dogecoin (DOGE-USD), which was up roughly 7%.

Watch: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency?

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