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Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin is back above $63,000, a more than 15% increase from last week’s low.
- Increased odds of an election victory for former President Donald Trump likely fueled some price momentum.
- Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Larry Fink endorsed bitcoin as a “legitimate financial instrument.”
Bitcoin (BTC) was back above $63,000 for the first time in two weeks on Monday, up more than 15% from the lows of last week.
Bitcoin Momentum Seen Helped by Election Outlook
Some of that price momentum is likely associated with the viewpoint that the re-election of former President Donald Trump, who has lately become viewed as a stronger supporter of cryptocurrency, is more likely. Trump has indicated he will attend a bitcoin conference in Nashville later this month, according to conference organizers.
“Bitcoin’s price is positively correlated with the probability of a Trump Presidency and will remain sensitive to election updates,” said analysts from brokerage firm Bernstein in a report, according to The Block. The report also offered upbeat scenarios for bitcoin-mining stocks, including their diversification into artificial intelligence.
Crypto-related stocks also saw gains in trading Monday. MicroStrategy (MSTR), one of the largest corporate bitcoin investors, saw its shares rise more than 16% while Coinbase (COIN) and miner Marathon Digital (MARA) shares jumped 11% and 18%, respectively.
BlackRock’s Fink Gets Behind Bitcoin
Bitcoin has found another supporter in BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink, who went from being a self-proclaimed “proud skeptic” to a “major believer.”
“I’m not trying to say there’s not misuses, like everything else, but it is a legitimate financial instrument that allows you to have non-correlated type of returns,” Fink told CNBC in an interview Monday, adding that he is “a major believer that there’s a role for bitcoin in portfolios.”
BlackRock’s spot bitcoin exchange traded fund—iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)—has been one of the category’s most-successful products. The fund secured almost $4 billion in net inflows in the second quarter, and roughly $18 billion since it began trading.
German Selling Abates, ETF Inflows Remain Strong
Cumulative spot bitcoin ETF net inflows hit of $15.8 billion on Friday. The products gathered about $1.4 billion in the entire week, effectively canceling out pressure from German authorities selling cryptocurrency it had seized.
A drag on the price of bitcoin has also been removed, as Germany’s on-chain bitcoin balance is now about zero. Based on data from Arkham Intelligence, Germany sold 42,000 bitcoin, worth around $2.4 billion, in one week.