Potential US Spot ETF Fuels Bitcoin's Recent Surge
ETF Central | Dec 12, 2023 09:25AM ET
Bitcoin, the world's most prominent digital currency, achieved a new peak over the past week. Surpassing the $43,000 threshold - and more than doubling in worth this year with a 160% increase – the cryptocurrency reached its highest point since April 2022.
Heightened speculation surrounding the potential authorization of a US spot ETF focused on Bitcoin, has served to boost sentiment across financial markets. Meanwhile, expectations of a decrease in US interest rates next year, which may attract more institutional investment in cryptocurrencies, are further driving optimism. However, the remarkable performance of crypto assets this year may well lead some investors to cash in on their gains before the year is out.
The FT Wilshire Top 5 Digital Assets Index, which reflects the broader trend in virtual currencies, increased by 18.20% over the week. As an illustration, Ethereum, another popular digital currency, also experienced growth in this bullish market, as shown by the 8.84% increase in the FT Wilshire Ethereum Blended Price Index for the week.
Indeed, cryptocurrency ETFs as a group have been gaining ground. Collectively, crypto funds were up 14% last week, posting an impressive 156.37% year-to-date growth. On a fund-specific level, the remarkable rise of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) is worthy of mention. With a surge of 14.57% over the past week, leading to annual cumulative returns of an impressive 153.81%, the fund has garnered $465 million of positive flows despite challenging market conditions. This represents an increase of +70% in AUM after removing gross performance.
In addition, certain Blockchain funds have benefitted from cryptocurrency performance and appear strategically placed to capitalize on the positive trends observed on cryptocurrency exchanges recently. As an example, the Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH) experienced substantial 16.81% growth last week.
h2 Group Data/h2
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.