Bitcoin is back above $44,000 for the first time since the Spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved for trading in January. This price surge is believed to be due to several factors that have played out in favor of the bulls in recent times.
BTC Whales Accumulate More Bitcoin
Citing data from Glassnode, crypto analyst Ali Martinez revealed recently that Bitcoin whales have been accumulating more BTC, with around 73 new addresses now holding 1,000 BTC or more. This figure is said to mark a 3.66% increase in the last two weeks, thereby continuing the accumulation trend.
NewsBTC had previously reported how Bitcoin whales had gone on a buying spree following Bitcoin’s decline to below $40,000. The flagship crypto token is believed to have dropped to that level due to the significant selling pressure from Grayscale, the issuer of the GBTC Spot Bitcoin ETF.
The asset manager has, however, cooled off on its BTC sell-offs recently as outflows from the fund continue to decline. This is another factor that could have contributed to Bitcoin’s recent price surge. Data from the on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence shows that other whales like FTX and Alameda Research have also eased off on offloading their crypto tokens.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Doing Their Bit
There has been increased institutional demand for Bitcoin thanks to the Spot Bitcoin ETFs. This is evident in the success which these funds have achieved since their launch. As a result, the issuers of these funds, like the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, have had to accumulate a significant amount of Bitcoin.
Recently, these asset managers were reported to hold over 657,000 BTC, thereby accounting for more than 3% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply. The newly listed Spot Bitcoin ETFs (excluding Grayscale) alone hold about 187,000 BTC. Interestingly, these funds are well on their way to surpassing MicroStrategy, which has a BTC holding of 190,000.
Meanwhile, Spot Bitcoin ETFs could launch soon in Hong Kong with 10 applications already made to the country’s financial regulators. This is another narrative that could be driving Bitcoin’s current price surge, seeing the impact that the approval rumors in the US had on Bitcoin’s price towards the end of last year.
Hong Kong isn’t the only country in Asia showing crypto enthusiasm as Thailand was recently reported to have removed VAT (Value Added Tax) on crypto trading.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at around $44,800, up over 4.4% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
