Bitcoin Crosses $46K as Year of 'Long' Begins, Easing ETF Sell-Off
Over the next few days, East Asia will celebrate the start of the year of the dragon, which is considered to be one of the luckiest and most prosperous animals in the Chinese Zodiac.
Bitcoin has historically seen gains around the Chinese New Year period.
Sources of selling pressure from ETF holders and miners have eased in the past week while BTC prices have increased, suggesting demand.
Bitcoin (BTC) crossed $46,000 early Friday, as the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the biggest cryptocurrencies, jumped over 2%.
The largest crypto by market cap reached a one-month high as East Asia ushered in its biggest festive of the year, celebrating the start of what’s believed to be one of the luckiest periods as per the Chinese Zodiac.
In Mandarin Chinese, the word for dragon is pronounced similarly to “long,” boosting memetic value among crypto traders.
Bitcoin could rise to as much as $48,000 in the coming days as the asset historically shows gains around the Chinese New Year period, 10X Research said in a Thursday note, predicting a gain of at least 11%.
The asset has added nearly 15% in the past two weeks, data shows, easing losses as the anticipated bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) turned out to be a sell-the-news event. The rise to its highest level since Jan. 12 came as the S&P500 and Nasdaq-100 indices hit all-time highs on Thursday.
Several ETFs have since absorbed more than a billion dollars worth of bitcoin selling pressure in the past few weeks, indicating demand.
Elsewhere, on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant said in a Thursday note that bitcoin movements out of miner wallets – which signify selling – seemed to slow.
Meanwhile, some traders said recent bitcoin price action stemmed fears of a further sell-off, citing strength in weekly movements.
Bitcoin rose above its 50-day moving average late Wednesday, confirming the bullish medium-term trend and easing fears of a deeper correction,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, in an email to CoinDesk. “On a weekly basis, bitcoin and the broader crypto market have gained strength after a long period of consolidation and are now poised to make new highs.”
Edited by Parikshit Mishra.
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Bitcoin Price Spikes Above $47,000 For First Time Since Bitcoin ETF Launch, Crypto Prices Rally
Bitcoin rallied above $47,000 early Friday, touching its highest level in more than two years — aside from the intraday spike on the Jan. 11 ETF launch day. The jump triggered a cryptocurrency rally early Friday. Coinbase stock, Marathon Digital (MARA), MicroStrategy (MSTR) and spot bitcoin ETF shares leapt in premarket trade.
Bitcoin Price Action
Bitcoin traded above $47,400 early Friday, surging more than 6% over the last 24 hours. That was its highest level in more than two years, although Bitcoin did briefly spike to $49,000 on the Jan. 11 ETF launches — its highest level since December 2021. The world's top cryptocurrency spiked nearly 11% in 2024.
Ethereum swung 3.8% higher over the last 24 hours to break above $2,500 for the first time since Jan. 18 and is up 8.5% so far this year.
Meanwhile, crypto-related stocks bolted higher. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) saw COIN stock jump about 7% early Friday after gaining 8.6% Thursday. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital vaulted 11% premarket.
MicroStrategy, the largest publicly-traded bitcoin holder, leapt 7% premarket Friday, adding to its 15.7% rally Thursday. The company acquired another 850 BTC in January, bringing its total to 190,000 worth about $8.1 billion, MicroStrategy announced during its Q4 earnings call on Feb. 6.
Bitcoin ETF Flows Update
Bitcoin ETF shares gained around 4% premarket Friday as bitcoin price climbed.
BlackRock's (BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been the clear leader in fund inflows since the spot bitcoin ETFs launched Jan. 11 with nearly $3.23 billion in inflows as of Feb. 8, according to Bloomberg data. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) ranks second at $2.8 billion in inflows. Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) saw $696 million in total inflows as of Feb. 8 followed by the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) at $695 million.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) recorded about $6.23 billion in outflows as of Feb. 8, which have steadily slowed. Still, Grayscale remains the leader in terms of assets, with $21.23 billion in assets under management, followed by iShares Bitcoin Trust at $3.44 billion.
