Bitcoin surged above $47,000 on Friday, reaching its highest level in over two years apart from the intraday spike on the day the ETF was launched on January 11. This surge sparked an early cryptocurrency rally on Friday. In daily trade, the stocks of Coinbase, Marathon Digital (MARA), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and spot bitcoin ETF shares all jumped.
Bitcoin Price Movement
On Friday, Bitcoin surpassed $47,500, reaching an intraday peak of $48,152. This was its highest level in over two years, although Bitcoin briefly spiked to $49,000 on the day of the ETF launches on January 11, marking its highest level since December 2021. The leading cryptocurrency saw a nearly 13% spike in 2024 so far. Ethereum hovered around $2,500 on Friday afternoon for the first time since January 18 and has seen a 9.2% increase this year.
Meanwhile, stocks related to cryptocurrencies surged. Coinbase’s stock (COIN) rose by about 7% on Friday after gaining 8.6% on Thursday. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital soared by 10.7%, and MicroStrategy, the largest publicly-traded bitcoin holder, jumped by 10% on Friday, adding to its 15.7% rally on Thursday. The company announced during its Q4 earnings call on February 6 that it acquired an additional 850 BTC in January, bringing its total to 190,000, worth about $8.1 billion.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Aim to Change Crypto Investing
Bitcoin ETF Inflows Update
Bitcoin ETF shares saw an increase of more than 4% on Friday as the price of bitcoin rose. BlackRock’s (BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been the leading fund in terms of inflows since the spot bitcoin ETFs were launched on January 11, with inflows reaching nearly $3.23 billion as of February 8, according to Bloomberg data. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) ranks second with $2.8 billion in inflows. Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) recorded $696 million in total inflows as of February 8, followed by the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) with $695 million.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reported approximately $6.23 billion in outflows as of February 8, which have gradually slowed down. Despite this, 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.
Various trends are expected to impact bitcoin in 2024, including the upcoming halving event in April and an increase in institutional participation.
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