Bitcoin’s dominance in the cryptocurrency market has recently peaked, driven largely by the growing interest in U.S. ETFs. CoinMarketCap reports that Bitcoin holds nearly 55% of the $2.4 trillion market for virtual currencies, a level not seen since April 2021. Following Bitcoin in market share are Ether, stablecoin Tether, Binance’s BNB, and Solana.
The launch of U.S. spot ETFs by companies like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments has been a notable success, attracting around $56 billion in assets. This surge in investment briefly pushed Bitcoin to a record high of $73,798 in mid-March. While the price has since dipped by about 6%, smaller digital assets have seen a steeper decline of over 30%, influenced by changing prospects of U.S. monetary policy that affect speculative investments.
Institutional investors’ allocations to U.S. ETFs have significantly boosted Bitcoin’s performance compared to the rest of the market, notes Benjamin Celermajer, director at digital-asset investment manager Magnet Capital. The introduction of Hong Kong-listed ETFs for Bitcoin and Ether has also driven up their values, with Bitcoin rising by 4.3% to $66,575 and Ether by 6.2% to $3,260. This surge has had a positive impact on cryptocurrencies like Polygon, Cardano, and Dogecoin.
Investors are now looking ahead to the upcoming halving event around April 20, which is expected to halve the new supply of Bitcoin. While previous halvings have led to price increases, the potential impact of the upcoming event remains uncertain given Bitcoin’s recent strong performance. Keep an eye on the market for further developments.