Golden Finance reported that U.S. exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin have recorded net inflows for the 18th consecutive day, setting a record for consecutive days of inflows. The surge in demand has helped push the world's largest digital asset to a record high. Data shows that since its launch on January 11, as of Thursday, more than a dozen such products have a total net subscription of US$15.6 billion and total assets of US$62.3 billion. Many speculators in the options market expect that Bitcoin prices will surpass the historical highs set in March this month, thanks to ETF demand and expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. "A large amount of funds have flowed into spot Bitcoin ETFs," Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors LLC, wrote in a report. "Macro trends continue to favor cryptocurrencies, with economic growth slowing but not recessionary, and inflation continuing to show signs of slowing."