BENGALURU: Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market cap, crossed $46,000, which is a one-month high, on Friday. Crypto exchanges say this will boost investor sentiment.
Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, said, “There is increased investor confidence, leading up to the halving event. Additionally, the Chinese New Year period has been a catalyst for Bitcoin’s upward momentum historically.” As per him, the surge coincides with S&P500 hitting a historic high. Glassnode reports a 3.6% rise in Bitcoin wallets holding over 1,000 BTC from January 19 to February 6.
“Bulls are looking towards $50,000 as the next major psychological resistance level, fuelled by positive sentiment,” he added. Bitcoin touched a high of $45,000 last month for the first time since April 2022. Exchanges say sentiment is strengthening in anticipation of BTC’s fourth halving event in April. Raj Karkara, COO, ZebPay, said this signifies a robust and evolving crypto landscape. Updates from ETF market have fuelled this growth of Bitcoin beyond the level of $45,000.
On Thursday, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin (FBTC) saw a net inflow of about $ 130.1 million. “Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw a volume of $478.5 million on February 8. Rising inflows in ETF market played a key role in the positive market trend. The accessibility of ETFs is widening investor base for Bitcoin,” Karkara said. Meanwhile, exchanges said investors are transferring their assets from non-FIU complaint offshore exchanges to Indian exchanges.
In December 2023, offshore virtual digital assets service providers (VDA SPs) Binance, Kucoin, Bittrex and five others received compliance show cause notices from Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU IND) for not complying with the provisions of the PML Act in India.