Bitcoin tops $57,000 as big buyers circle By Reuters

By Amanda Cooper and Tom Westbrook

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Bitcoin hit a two-year high on Tuesday as there were signs that big players were buying the cryptocurrency, while smaller rival Ether topped $3,200 for the first time since 2022.

is up more than 10% in two sessions, helped by crypto investor and software company MicroStrategy’s announcement on Monday that it recently purchased about 3,000 bitcoins for a $155 million outlay.

The original and largest cryptocurrency by market value also recently received a boost from the approval of Bitcoin-owning exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. On Monday, trading volumes across several funds surged and cryptocurrency-related companies also rallied, in contrast to jittery broader markets.

Bitcoin rose to $57,036 on the Asian morning, its highest since late 2021. Ether rose to $3,275, its highest since April 2022.

“Supply is limited… but demand driven by U.S. spot ETFs appears to be relentless,” said Justin d’Anethan, head of partnerships in Asia at Keyrock, a digital asset market maker.

An important incentive at the moment is the Bitcoin halving in April. This process is intended to slow the release of Bitcoin, the supply of which is capped at 21 million – of which 19 million have already been mined – by halving the reward for producing the tokens.

Bitcoin has gained 32% in value so far in February, heading for its biggest one-month gain since January 2023, and momentum is also building outside the investing community.

Social media platform Reddit, which filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on February 22, said it has invested a small portion of its excess cash reserves in Bitcoin, Ether and Matic, the native tokens of the Polygon network have a form of payment for the sale of certain virtual goods.

Ether, which rose 1.1% to a two-year high of around $3,220, has risen even faster this month and is heading for a 41% gain.

Anticipation is growing among market participants about the possible regulatory approval of spot Ether ETFs, which has contributed to this recent price increase.

“The prospect of a spot Ethereum ETF is a step forward for traders and investors alike following the recent launch of a variety of Bitcoin ETFs,” Nick Crawley, senior strategist at DailyFX, said in a note.

“It represents a further maturation of the cryptocurrency market and a recognition of Ethereum’s role in the future of cryptocurrencies in the financial system.”