Bitcoin continued its record-breaking surge on Tuesday, fueled by an influx of capital into new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and optimism that the Federal Reserve might soon reduce interest rates.
At the same time, Bitcoin's market capitalization reached $1.414 trillion, surpassing silver to become the eighth most valuable asset globally.
On March 12, the leading cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of over $72,850, and as of 4:34 p.m. IST, it was trading at $72,160.
Bitcoin has already overtaken Meta, which is now valued at $1.23 trillion. The next milestone in Bitcoin’s rise is Alphabet, Google's parent company, currently valued at just under $1.72 trillion. Bitcoin enthusiasts are now targeting gold, the world’s most valuable asset, which has a market capitalization of $14.7 trillion.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s rally gained further momentum after the UK’s financial regulator, on Monday, became the latest authority to support digital asset trading products, announcing that it would allow recognized investment exchanges to launch crypto-backed exchange-traded notes.
The UK regulator stated that these products would be available only to professional investors, such as investment firms and credit institutions authorized to operate in financial markets, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
However, the FCA warned that crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs)—bonds issued by financial institutions to track the performance of underlying assets—may present risks to retail investors.
Despite the warning, demand is growing across the investment community.
According to weekly data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, asset managers now hold the largest bullish position in Bitcoin futures on record.
In the week leading up to March 5, the net long position held by asset managers—typically representing institutional investors like mutual funds and pension funds—rose to 15,531 lots, valued at $5.5 billion based on the current Bitcoin price.
Bitcoin has gained over 70% this year, with the majority of the increase occurring in the last few weeks. Over the past year, Bitcoin has rallied more than 250%. Following Bitcoin’s surge, other cryptocurrencies have also seen gains. Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Avalanche, Cardano and Toncoin experienced increases in Tuesday's trading session.
