Blockchain
Bitcoin (BTC) price increases, Ether, Solana, Chainlink slows
The price of bitcoin (BTC) surpassed the $67,000 level for the first time in nearly a month, as animal spirits in cryptocurrencies return after eight weeks of sideways downward movement.
At the time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $67,250, up 2.8% over the past 24 hours and about 10% from Monday’s lowest levels. That lagged the broader CoinDesk 20 index, which was ahead 4.4% over the past 24 hours and about 12% from Monday’s low.
Among the major promoters of the index is Chainlink (CONNECTION)now up 18% since yesterday’s announcement by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). completion of a pilot project with Chainlink and several major U.S. financial institutions, with the goal of helping accelerate the tokenization of funds. Other outperformers today include ether (ETH) with an advance of 5.3% and solana (SOL) gaining 7.7%.
The rapid turnaround in sentiment towards cryptocurrencies comes after economic data this week showed weakening US inflation and regulatory filings showed extraordinary interest in the still new spot ETFs on bitcoin. Izzy Englander’s $64 billion AUM Millennium Management disclosed a $2 billion position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at the end of the first quarter and also $70 billion Elliott Management’s AUM Paul Singer disclosed sizeable holdings in bitcoin ETFs, although much smaller than Millennium’s position. Perhaps most interestingly, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages the state’s pension assets, showed a stake of around $100 million in BlackRock’s IBIT.