Bitcoin’s push to a record high on Tuesday has been part of a broader rally in 2024, with other cryptocurrencies and investment vehicles tied to bitcoin surging along with it. Start with the arrival of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which is often pointed to as one of the sparks of the crypto rebound. The price of bitcoin has climbed about 48% since Jan. 11, when the ETFs first launched, according to Coin Metrics. The ETFs have seen similar gains. IBIT 1M mountain Bitcoin ETFs, like iShares’ IBIT, have surged over the past month as the cryptocurrency has raced to a new record high. Two of the funds have started to pull away as the clear leaders in terms of popularity, however. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has pulled in nearly $8 billion of investor cash, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) is nearing $5 billion, according to FactSet. None of the other funds have brought in more than $2 billion, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has lost more than $8 billion in assets. “We continue to think GBTC redemptions may be a source of inflows for the other ETFs that are priced at lower fee rates. As such, low-cost and blue chip offerings like BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC are offsetting these GBTC redemptions nicely,” JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington said in a note to clients Tuesday. There are also leveraged bitcoin futures ETFs for investors who want to take on even more risk. The 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX) has roughly doubled so far this year. It’s not just ETFs that have been benefiting from bitcoin’s surge. Some of the old ways to bet on bitcoin through the equity market have been hot as well. Microstrategy , a software company that has amassed a sizable holding of bitcoin on its balance sheet, has seen its stock more than double over the past month. MSTR 1M mountain Shares of Microstrategy are outperforming bitcoin over the past month. Meanwhile, shares of crypto exchange Coinbase are up nearly as much over the past month, as investors bet that the surge in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will translate into higher trading volumes and fatter profits. Similarly, brokerage stock Robinhood is ahead 50%. Other cryptocurrencies have rallied as well, with the price of ether up more than 50%. Crypto mining stocks are a different story, however. Shares of Marathon Digital fell sharply in January, and a recent rally has only brought the stock back to roughly flat for the year. Shares of Bitfarms are down about 14% for the year. Both stocks were under pressure again on Tuesday. However, the miners were some of the best performers in 2023, so they may have served as something of a leading indicator for the bitcoin rally. Marathon soared more than 500% last year, and Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) jumped about 300%. Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: Instead of chasing Nvidia, investor buys these misunderstood, cheap growth stocks for big returns Why Warren Buffett thinks the power of compound interest is the key to his success Forget cash — it’s time to move into fixed income, Franklin Templeton strategist says Dan Niles reveals why he prefers the ‘Fantastic Four’ and when the ‘AI bubble’ might pop Investors should tread carefully in March after bitcoin’s explosive rally to $60,000
Bitcoin’s push to a record high on Tuesday has been part of a broader rally in 2024, with other cryptocurrencies and investment vehicles tied to bitcoin surging along with it.
Start with the arrival of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which is often pointed to as one of the sparks of the crypto rebound. The price of bitcoin has climbed about 48% since Jan. 11, when the ETFs first launched, according to Coin Metrics. The ETFs have seen similar gains.
Bitcoin ETFs, like iShares’ IBIT, have surged over the past month as the cryptocurrency has raced to a new record high.
Two of the funds have started to pull away as the clear leaders in terms of popularity, however. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has pulled in nearly $8 billion of investor cash, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) is nearing $5 billion, according to FactSet. None of the other funds have brought in more than $2 billion, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has lost more than $8 billion in assets.
“We continue to think GBTC redemptions may be a source of inflows for the other ETFs that are priced at lower fee rates. As such, low-cost and blue chip offerings like BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC are offsetting these GBTC redemptions nicely,” JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington said in a note to clients Tuesday.
There are also leveraged bitcoin futures ETFs for investors who want to take on even more risk. The 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX) has roughly doubled so far this year.
It’s not just ETFs that have been benefiting from bitcoin’s surge. Some of the old ways to bet on bitcoin through the equity market have been hot as well. Microstrategy, a software company that has amassed a sizable holding of bitcoin on its balance sheet, has seen its stock more than double over the past month.
Shares of Microstrategy are outperforming bitcoin over the past month.
Meanwhile, shares of crypto exchange Coinbase are up nearly as much over the past month, as investors bet that the surge in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will translate into higher trading volumes and fatter profits. Similarly, brokerage stock Robinhood is ahead 50%.
Other cryptocurrencies have rallied as well, with the price of ether up more than 50%.
Crypto mining stocks are a different story, however. Shares of Marathon Digital fell sharply in January, and a recent rally has only brought the stock back to roughly flat for the year. Shares of Bitfarms are down about 14% for the year. Both stocks were under pressure again on Tuesday.
However, the miners were some of the best performers in 2023, so they may have served as something of a leading indicator for the bitcoin rally. Marathon soared more than 500% last year, and Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) jumped about 300%.
