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Bitcoin leads gains with $1.3 billion in March
Bitcoin rose as much as 3.7% to above US$74,400 on March 16 as traders reacted to uncertainty in the Middle East and ether rose as much as 6.9%, while Solana and XRP climbed 6.1% and 4.7% respectively.
The rally comes as bitcoin has outperformed traditional safe-haven assets this month, while gold has moved lower. Bitcoin is up 12.5% this month while gold is down 4.9%.
Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, said retail and strategic buyers appear to be returning, and a break through US$75,000 now looks possible.
Net inflows to the 12 US-listed, spot Bitcoin ETFs totalled about US$763 million last week and have reached US$1.3 billion so far in March. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, said BlackRock’s IBIT made up roughly 78% of those flows.
Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE, also pointed that if the conflict eases, Bitcoin could recover toward US$100,000, but if it drags on, it could fall toward US$60,000.
🔗 Source: Bloomberg
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
BlackRock’s dominance masks a divided market
- Net inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can hide money moving between funds rather than broad-based buying 1.
- In one week in early March, BlackRock’s IBIT took in US$660 million while the total net inflow across all spot Bitcoin ETFs came to US$568 million. Other products had net outflows in the same stretch 2.
- BlackRock’s distribution network helps explain the imbalance. It reaches institutional investors and financial advisors who want to place large sums in one familiar fund 3.
A fearful market was already primed to rally
- Fear ran high in options markets, with downside risk priced at levels similar to the 2022 collapse of FTX, the crypto exchange that imploded after a liquidity crisis. IBIT options traders also brought traditional finance (TradFi)-driven hedging flows, such as buying protective puts or selling covered calls 4.
- Geopolitical events added momentum to the move. They did not act as the only reason prices rose 5.
