Bitcoin is soaring again and getting close to its all-time high. The top cryptocurrency surged above $71,000 on Tuesday morning, an increase of 6% over the previous day. According to the crypto tracking site CoinGecko, it has risen 154% so far this year and is now less than 4% behind its all-time high.
Investors are pouring money into Bitcoin ETFs
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become popular among investors, contributing to the Bitcoin boom. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows totaling $15.4 million on Monday, breaking a five-day run of outflows, according to Farside. With $261.8 million collected, Fidelity’s FBTC led the inflows, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT with $35.5 million. GBTC (Grayscale’s ETF) continued to decline, losing about $350 million.
In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved almost a dozen Bitcoin ETFs, kicking off the craze for new types of securities. The U.K. has approved securities linked to Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin ‘halving’ is just a few weeks away
In mid-April, Bitcoin will undergo a major event called “halving,” which occurs every four years. This event reduces the reward for mining new Bitcoin by half. In Bitcoin’s founding whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, wrote that halving was intended to control currency production and curb inflation.
Previous halving events have sent Bitcoin prices higher. Bitcoin’s most recent halving took place on May 11, 2020, resulting in a block reward of 6.25 Bitcoin. This year’s halving will reduce the reward to 3.125 Bitcoin for miners.
Other cryptocurrencies are riding the wave
Bitcoin’s rise has spread bullish sentiment across the crypto market. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, is up 6%, trading at $3,600. Dogecoin has risen 6% in a day and 38% in a week, standing at $0.18. Solana is up 3% in the past 24 hours, hovering around $193.