Bitcoin's Big Bounce: What's Driving the Crypto Surge?

Bitcoin's value jumped by around 6% in just one day. This sudden rise caught the attention of many investors and traders. It also led to a lot of activity in crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Among them, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) stood out. It saw a huge trading volume of about $3. 7 billion. This was more than the trading volume of the S&P 500 ETF from Vanguard (VOO), which recorded $3. 28 billion. This shows that BlackRock’s bitcoin fund is now among the most popular and liquid ETFs in the market. The sudden increase in trading volume could be due to bitcoin’s price recovery. But it also happened right after Vanguard announced it would start allowing bitcoin ETFs and crypto mutual funds on its brokerage platform. This is a big deal because Vanguard had been resistant to crypto for a long time. BlackRock’s bitcoin funds have become a major part of the firm’s product lineup. IBIT alone now holds $66. 3 billion in net assets. It has become the firm’s top revenue-generating ETF. This is impressive considering BlackRock manages over 1, 400 ETFs and has $13. 4 trillion in total assets under management. Other cryptocurrencies also saw gains. Ether (ETH), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) all went up by around 7%. Cardano’s native token, ADA, led the gains with a 14% increase. Chainlink’s token, LINK, was also up by 11%. This rise came after Grayscale debuted a new ETF tied to the token on NYSE Arca. The bounce in bitcoin prices also affected crypto-related stocks. Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), which holds over 174, 000 BTC, rose by 6%. Robinhood (HOOD), which offers crypto services, gained 2%. Bullish (BLSH), the parent company of CoinDesk, climbed 5%, and Circle (CRLC), the firm behind the USDC stablecoin, added 4%. However, Coinbase (COIN) moved in the opposite direction. Its shares fell by 5% after a group of shareholders filed a lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses company executives of engaging in a scheme to unload billions of dollars in stock while misleading investors. The suit claims insiders took advantage of inflated valuations following Coinbase’s 2021 public listing to cash out at the expense of long-term shareholders. The picture was less rosy for bitcoin mining stocks. Despite the broader crypto market’s rebound, most miners traded in the red. Shares of Iren (IREN) led the declines with a 15% drop, followed by Cipher Mining (CIFR), which fell 10%, and TeraWulf (WULF), down 7%.