First Mover Americas: BTC Flirts With $68K Amid ETF Inflows
2024-10-18

CoinDesk 20 Index: 2,056.00 +1%
Bitcoin BTCUSD: $67,818.38 +1.35%
Ether ETHUSD: $2,625.15 +0.85%
S&P 500: 5,841.47 -0.02%
Gold: $2,709.71 +0.59%
Nikkei 225: 38,981.75 +0.18%
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Bitcoin made another attempt to establish a foothold above $68,000 early in the European morning before pulling back and trading around $67,800. BTC has gained about 1.35% in the last 24 hours, outperforming the broader digital asset market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, which is just under 0.8% higher. Bitcoin has also risen nearly 9% this week, according to CoinDesk Indices, amidst strong uptake for spot BTC ETFs. The U.S.-listed funds have seen inflows of $1.86 billion since Monday, which, even with one day remaining, is their highest tally since the second week of March, according to data compiled by SoSoValue.
Globally, bitcoin ETPs have enjoyed their best week since July, according to bold.report. ETPs have registered a cumulative inflow of 25,675 BTC ($1.74 billion) in the last seven days, as investors worldwide have scrambled to gain exposure to bitcoin amidst its latest rally. The U.S.-listed ETFs' inflows of nearly $1.9 billion are the equivalent of 21,450 BTC. To put this into perspective, the bitcoin ETF investors have purchased around 48 days of mined supply, as roughly 450 BTC get mined daily. These spot ETFs have now taken over $20 billion in net inflows since inception, an impressive feat as it took Gold ETFs about five years to reach the same number, according to Bloomberg's ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas.
Dogecoin jumped late U.S. hours Thursday as entrepreneur Elon Musk further revealed plans for his proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” at a Pennsylvania town hall. The event encouraged early voting in the crucial state where Republicans and Democrats are in lockheads. DOGE has risen over 9% to over 13 cents for the first time since late July, beating the broader market and bitcoin’s 1% rise in the past 24 hours. It extended one-week gains to over 22%, the highest among all major tokens. Musk has emerged as a key backer of Republican Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the past months. He has donated over $75 million to the American PAC since July and is scheduled for several campaign appearances in Pennsylvania this month.
- Omkar Godbole