Bitcoin Hovers Below Peak, Doubts Linger Over Boost From US ETF

LONDON/HONG KONG—Bitcoin hovered connected Thursday beneath its all-time precocious struck a time earlier aft the motorboat of the archetypal U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, though J.P. Morgan analysts voiced uncertainty implicit its interaction connected cryptocurrency concern flows.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded level astatine $66,032, erasing slim losses made successful Asian trading hours, aft hitting a grounds $67,016 connected Wednesday.

Bitcoin’s rally to its latest peak—six-month aft its erstwhile apical of $64,895—was fuelled by the motorboat of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Investors person stake this volition unfastened a way to greater concern from some retail and organization investors.

Yet immoderate analysts astatine large banks voiced uncertainty implicit however long-lasting the boost to bitcoin prices from the ProShares ETF, which trades nether the ticker BITO, would be.

“Will the motorboat of BITO by itself bring importantly much caller superior into bitcoin? We uncertainty it fixed the multitude of concern choices bitcoin investors already have,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote successful a note.

“The bulls are seeing this ETF arsenic a caller concern conveyance that would unfastened the avenue for caller superior to participate bitcoin markets. The bears are seeing the caller ETF arsenic lone incremental summation to an already crowded abstraction of bitcoin concern vehicles.”

Many marketplace players spot ostentation risks, alternatively than caller concern products, arsenic driving bitcoin’s caller rally. The cryptocurrency’s constricted proviso makes it, proponents say, a utile conveyance for hedging against rising inflation.

Still, others predicted that bitcoin’s latest highest would unfastened the mode to further gains this year.

“We deliberation it’s going to spell higher and we tin get to $80 oregon $90,000 by the extremity of this twelvemonth easy, but that won’t beryllium without volatility,” said Matt Dibb, COO of Singapore-based Stack Funds.

In the past fewer days, helium said, traders were starting to wage precocious rates to get to bargain bitcoin futures, “and that’s a motion that we could beryllium a spot overextended, and determination could beryllium a pullback to come.”

Ether, the world’s 2nd largest cryptocurrency, roseate 1 percent to $4,203—close to its all-time precocious of $4,380, deed successful May.

By Tom Wilson and Alun John