Bitcoin Price Surges to $50K Preceding April Halving, Prompts $1.1B Inflow in Spot ETFs
Bitcoin price has escalated to $50,000, demonstrating the determination of BTC bulls to push the price upwards before the April halving event. The significant rally marked the first time Bitcoin reached this height since December 2021 and was spurred by a succession of positive developments surrounding exchange-traded funds in the past week.
BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin's price saw a rapid surge of 3.25% from an intra-day low of $47,745 on February 12, attaining a two-year peak at $50,000. The price climb to this new bimonthly high was preceded by an impressive 16% gain over the past seven days. This robust performance coincides with an increase in inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs over the previous week. Last week alone, spot Bitcoin ETFs gained over $1.1 billion in netflows, while outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) continued to lessen.
A CoinShares report from February 12 revealed that the newly issued spot-based Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw a net inflow of $1.1 billion last week, totaling $2.8 billion in inflows since their launch on January 11th. The recent inflows and Bitcoin's price surge have lifted the total AuM to $59 billion, the highest since early 2022.
These developments derive from a market context where Bitcoin last traded above $49,000 over two years ago, following the FTX debacle. The swift price rise in recent hours led to a spike in cryptocurrency market liquidations exceeding $152 million, with Bitcoin short position liquidations accounting for more than $45.56 million.
Total Bitcoin Liquidations. Source: Coinglass