Bitcoin and its spot ETFs continue to hit new records

Bitcoin just keeps notching all-time highs. Just two days following its previous all-time high, the asset passed $126,000 for the first time on Monday, a more than 100% jump from where it stood a year ago at $62,800.

JPMorgan analysts wrote that increased institutional interest combined with the “debasement trade,” including macro uncertainty, “waning confidence in fiat currencies in certain emerging markets,” and “persistently high government deficits across major economies,” are continuing to fuel the rally, though bitcoin has sold off on Tuesday morning and is hovering around $123,000.

Sam Callahan, director of bitcoin strategy and research at newly listed OranjeBTC, told Sherwood News that investors are increasingly gravitating to hard money as perceived risks around fiscal sustainability and currency debasement rise.

“Bitcoin at record highs is consistent with a world where global debt is sitting around $340 trillion and major governments continue to run multitrillion-dollar deficits,” he said.

Bitcoin ETFs also saw record inflows on Monday, amassing over $1.2 billion, the largest amount since their inception in January 2024. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust took in the bulk of yesterday’s inflows, racking up $969.95 million, SoSoValue data shows.

BlackRock’s fund is nearing $100 billion in assets under management, and is also BlackRock’s most profitable ETF, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, who noted in a post on X that the rest of the firm’s top 10 ETFs are decades old, while IBIT is not even 2.

David Siemer, CEO and cofounder of Wave Digital Assets, said that ETF inflows continue to be a massive catalyst, pulling in fresh institutional capital at an unprecedented pace.

“At the same time, the Fed’s pivot toward rate cuts has weakened the dollar and boosted risk appetite across the board, with crypto benefiting disproportionately. Add to macro uncertainty surrounding the US government shutdown, and you’ve got an environment where even modest demand creates outsized moves,” Siemer said.

VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, predicted in a post on X that bitcoin “should reach half of gold’s market cap after the next halving... At today’s record gold price, that implies an equivalent value of $644,000 per BTC.” That said, the next halving will likely happen in 2028, so time will tell.