Markets
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Rises, Lags Ether, Solana, Chainlink
The price of bitcoin (BTC) surpassed the $67,000 level for the first time in nearly a month as animal spirits in cryptocurrencies return after eight weeks of sideways-to-low action.
At press time, bitcoin was trading at $67,250, up 2.8% in the past 24 hours and up about 10% from its lowest levels on Monday. That lags the broader CoinDesk 20 index, which was ahead 4.4% over the past 24 hours and about 12% from Monday’s low.
Among the biggest players on the index were Chainlink (LINK)now up 18% since the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced yesterday carrying out a pilot project with Chainlink and several major US financial institutions, with the aim of helping accelerate the tokenization of funds. Other outperformers today include Ether (ETH) with an advance of 5.3% and solana (GROUND) gaining 7.7%.
The rapid turnaround in sentiment toward crypto comes after economic data this week showed a slowdown in U.S. inflation and regulatory filings. showed extraordinary interest in the still recent spot bitcoin ETFs. Izzy Englander Millennium Management’s $64 billion assets under management disclosed a $2 billion position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at the end of the first quarter and $70 billion assets under management of Paul Singer Elliott Management also disclosed significant Bitcoin ETF holdings, although much smaller than Millennium’s position. Perhaps most interestingly, the Wisconsin State Investment Board – which manages the state’s retirement assets – showed a stake of around $100 million in BlackRock’s IBIT.