Bitcoin Tastes $48,000 As Ethereum And Avalanche Follow, Led By Record ETF Asset Inflows: The Week In Retrospect

Major cryptocurrencies traded in the green on late Friday evening, propelled by the spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, which recorded its third-best inflow day following the approval.

What Happened: Bitcoin surged from $45,349 to briefly cross the $48,000 mark to gain 5% gain in a single day, fueled by spot Bitcoin ETF inflows. Two of the ETFs approved last month rank among the Top 10 Global ETFs by asset flows.

In other developments, the Solana blockchain network experienced a five-hour outage, which did not hinder its mid-week rally. Bullish sentiments persist in the analyst community, with Dogecoin DOGE/USD and Cardano ADA/USD being touted as future outperformers. In the Avalanche community, approximately 9.5 million AVAX tokens, valued at $322 million, are set to be unlocked on Feb. 22, 2024.

Among cryptocurrency-related companies, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings have surged by 50% to $9 billion. During the latest earnings call, CEO Michael Saylor referred to his company as a Bitcoin development firm and expressed commitment to expanding the Bitcoin network. Riding on the back of the Bitcoin rally, Coinbase Global COIN saw a 7.2% increase in mid-day trading. The company is slated to report its quarterly earnings on Feb. 15.

Data from analytics firm Santiment shows that 90.5% of Bitcoin held are currently in profit, compared to Ethereum's 84.7% and XRP's 79.9%.

Top Gainers (24 Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market cap stands at $1.78 trillion, reflecting a 1.25% increase over the past 24 hours. The upcoming halving event spurred record miner selling, further increasing Bitcoin prices.

Also Read: Bitcoin Halving Prompts Record Miner Selling: Bitfinex Report

In the broader market, the Nasdaq Composite surged by 1.25% to close at 15,990.66, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped slightly by 0.14%, ending the day at 38,671.69.

The rally in tech stocks, driven by optimism surrounding Artificial Intelligence, contributed to gains for companies like Enhphase Energy and New York Community Bancorp. No major economic data releases impacted industry sentiment.

Analyst Notes:  Following the Bitcoin rally to $48,000, crypto investor Matthew Hyland highlighted a technical chart movement:

What’s Next: Although Bitcoin has retreated from its $48,000 level at the time of writing, bullish analysts anticipate a rally to $50,000 in the coming weeks leading up to the Bitcoin halving event in April 2024, possibly catalyzing further gains.

Entrepreneur and Bitcoin investor Lark Davis thinks the bull run "is here" and said that buying between now and the fourth quarter of 2024 will be "the easiest money to ever make."

Another analyst, Michael van de Poppe, stated that while the $33 trillion in U.S. debt is a concern, one should buy Bitcoin and buy gold because the assets are a "hedge against bankruptcy, not inflation.”

Read Next: Bitcoin Surpasses $47K, Up 16% Since Jim Cramer Said 'Unlikely To Find Its Footing'

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