(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin rose to nearly $70,000 on Monday, buoyed by a surge in exchange-traded fund flows into the largest digital asset and optimism about the U.S. regulatory outlook.
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The cryptocurrency rose 1%, netting gains to trade at $68,252 as of 8:32 a.m. in New York. Smaller tokens such as Ether in second place and Solana in the top 10 coins fluctuated within a narrow range.
U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $2.4 billion in net inflows in the six days ending Oct. 18, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, the latest in the wake of U.S. crypto regulations following the Nov. 5 presidential election. The view that the country will become friendlier is also a contributing factor.
Republican candidate Donald Trump is an avowed supporter of cryptocurrencies, which is why Bitcoin is considered a so-called Trump transaction. Her Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, has vowed to support a regulatory framework for the industry. This is in contrast to the crackdown on this sector under the Biden administration.
According to David Rowant, head of research at crypto prime broker FalconX, the two main trends in the market are the election and the global macroeconomic environment. Bitcoin options markets are showing that “forward implied volatility is concentrated around Election Day and is somewhat subdued on Election Day and for some time after,” he wrote in a note.
Bitcoin rose nearly 10% in the seven days through Sunday, the original cryptocurrency's best weekly performance in more than a month. Demand for the ETF helped the token reach an all-time high of $73,798 in March. The bull market has subsided, and the last time Bitcoin traded above $70,000 was in June.
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