Bitcoin Extends Bull Run, Climbing to Record High Above $72K
40 minutes ago
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) climbed to a record high of more than $72,000 on Monday morning, extending a major rally over the last month as money has rushed into bitcoin ETFs ahead of a much-anticipated halving event.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies got a boost Monday from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority after the regulator said it would not object to exchanges listing crypto-backed exchange-traded notes (ETNs).
The move comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January approved the listing of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a major milestone for the cryptocurrency and its backers within mainstream finance. That decision and Monday’s notice by the U.K. have aided the crypto community’s claims of legitimacy and lowered the bar to investing in cryptocurrencies.
Since the SEC’s decision in January, money has poured into the new ETFs. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exceeded $10 billion in assets under management last week. It reached the milestone in a record two months, boosted by both billions of dollars of inflows and the soaring price of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has gained nearly 50% in the last month alone. The gains have been driven by interest in ETFs and anticipation of an upcoming halving, which is expected to take place next month and will reduce the reward for mining Bitcoin to 3.125 BTC.
Bitcoin’s gains on Monday morning also buoyed the stocks of crypto-related companies such as major U.S. exchange Coinbase (COIN), which gained 3%.
Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software company led by Bitcoin bull Michael Taylor, surged more than 9% to a record high after Saylor said the company had purchased 12,000 bitcoins at an average price of $68,477. The addition brings MicroStrategy’s total holdings to about 205,000 bitcoins, valued at more than $14.8 billion.
Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket
1 hr 44 min ago
Gains:
- MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR): Shares of the software company, which has sizable Bitcoin holdings, surged more than 9% after its CEO Michael Saylor said the company had acquired another 12,000 bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 205,000 coins worth nearly $15 billion.
- Equitrans Midstream Corp. (ETRN): Shares rose more than 5% after EQT (EQT) offered to buy the company for about $5.5 billion. EQT shares were down more than 5% in premarket trading.
- Linde Plc (LIN): Shares of the gas company rose more than 2% after it was added to the Nasdaq 100 index effective March 18.
Losses:
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. (WH): Shares fell 5% after Choice Hotels (CHH) walked away from its efforts to acquire the hotel operator. Choice shares jumped more than 6%.
- Boeing Co. (BA): Shares of the plane manufacturer fell more than 2% after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into this year’s Alaska Airlines incident.
- Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares of the semiconductor maker fell more than 1%, extending Friday’s 5% slide, as three authors sued the company for copyright infringement related to the use of their work as training materials for its AI platform.
Stock Futures Fall To Start the Week
2 hr 25 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4% in premarket trading on Monday.
S&P 500 futures were about 0.5% lower.
Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.6% about an hour before markets opened.
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