Please try another search
© Reuters
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – Bitcoin looks set to close out the week near record highs Friday, on signs investors continue to back the cryptocurrency for the long haul ahead of a potential boost from a U.S. ETF that will "almost definitely" be launched this year, experts say.
BTC/USD rose 1.06% to $58,829.8, and remained just shy of its record high of $61,795.8.
"[T]he new US administration’s more crypto-friendly leadership will almost definitely spur the launch of an approved BTC ETF in 2021," Alexander Blum, managing director of Two Prime, a digital asset investment fund, said in an email, referring to incoming SEC chairman Gary Gensler.
"This can be seen by the increase in viable applications and the rampant hiring for ETF job roles at Grayscale this very moment. These groups are not making these investments blindly," Blum added.
The optimism over a U.S. bitcoin ETF launch comes amid ongoing signs of long-term demand for the popular cryptocurrency.
Rising outflows from bitcoin exchanges – a bullish on-chain indicator –showed that an increasing number of investors are moving their coins off exchanges to private wallets to hold bitcoin for the long haul.
The outflows continued to increase near levels last seen when BTC made its prior peak above $61,000, according to data from Cryptoquant.
"The ongoing reduction in on-exchange bitcoin available, coupled with rampant fiat currency debasement and institutional buying will all continue to provide macro-economic dynamics for the continued growth and utility of Bitcoin," Blum said.
But not everyone is bullish on bitcoin.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) made headlines this week, arguing that bitcoin's volatility makes it a poor destination as a store of value.
"Bitcoin has also become correlated to risk assets, it is not tied to inflation, and remains exceptionally volatile, making it impractical as a store of wealth or payments mechanism,” Bank of America analyst Francisco Blanch wrote in a note.
But the swings in bitcoin are not as pronounced as they once were and will continue to decline as new ways for institutional investors to access the popular crypto emerge, drawing in an influx of liquidity.
"The lack of a derivatives market has led to greater volatility. As crypto derivatives volume grows at astonishing rates (1,800% in 2020), this will change," Blum said.
Genesis, a digital currency prime broker, has seen a major leadership change as CEO Michael Moro steps down after seven years of service. Genesis released a statement,...
Two days ago, Bored Apes NFT received a warning from the Anonymous Group Gold Fur Bored Ape #5853 was sold for 777 Ethereum (ETH) yesterday The first-ever animal-made NFT...
While some think the Tornado Cash ban may negatively impact other projects focusing on privacy, others believe that these projects will keep pushing forward and keeping their...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.