Bitcoin surges past $46,000, close to month-highs on ETF inflows, plans for halving

Bitcoin, the largest digital asset, achieved a one-month high by surpassing $46,000 on February 9. This upward trend is supported by steady inflows into several United States funds for the cryptocurrency and increasing attention on the upcoming halving scheduled for April, Bloomberg reported.

As of 11:06 am in Singapore on Friday, Bitcoin recorded a 2 percent increase, reaching $46,166. This marks a 9 percent rally in 2024. Additionally, smaller tokens like Ether, Solana, and Cardano also experienced upward movement.

Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds Give Boost

Nine US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) debuted on January 11, accompanied by the conversion of the over-decade-old Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF on the same day. This move towards ETFs is expected to broaden the investor base for Bitcoin. The newly introduced funds have attracted a net $8 billion, while the outflow from the Grayscale fund, amounting to $6 billion since its conversion, is showing signs of slowing down.

"Bitcoin appears set to resume its march up after the Grayscale outflows finally tapered off. The halving narrative will gain momentum, potentially propelling Bitcoin past $50,000 in the coming weeks," Caroline Mauron, co-founder of digital-asset derivatives liquidity provider Orbit Markets told Bloomberg.

Impact of the Quadrennial Halving

The quadrennial halving event reduces the quantity of Bitcoin that miners receive for their efforts in securing the network through complex puzzles. This process is crucial in limiting the supply of Bitcoin to 21 million tokens. The upcoming event will see rewards drop to 3.125 coins per block from the current 6.25 coins.

Previous halving events have historically preceded strong bull runs, as noted by a team including DBS Bank Chief Economist Taimur Baig. In a note, he emphasized a simple economic reason behind potential price increases: "As the reward for mining decreases, the price for mining output (namely Bitcoin) must increase to compensate and not trigger a withdrawal of computational resources by miners."

Despite the recent surge, Bitcoin remains approximately $23,000 below its record high set in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic-era bull run fuelled by easy money.