KEY POINTS
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs logged a total of $252 million in inflows Friday, led by BlackRock's IBIT
- Powell hinted that the central bank may slash interest rates as soon as next month
- The crypto community was met with news Saturday that Telegram's Pavel Durov was arrested in France
Bitcoin had a great weekend despite news about Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's arrest in France. The world's first decentralized cryptocurrency climbed above $64,000 and is looking to breach the $65,000-line following positive news on Bitcoin exchange-traded funds' (ETFs) inflows and the Fed chief's talks about rate cuts.
Bitcoin prices are known to react to events surrounding the industry as well as anything that goes on in the broader financial system. The digital coin has had its fair share of significant falls over the last few months, but this weekend saw the digital asset add some $4,000. What made Bitcoin jump?
$BTC ETF flows positive
The movement of spot Bitcoin ETFs is usually associated with a reaction from crypto prices. Friday was one of those days when the funds gave $BTC a significant boost.
Friday's inflows among U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs were in the green, with only Grayscale's GBTC seeing outflows, as per data from London-based Farside Investors. BlackRock's IBIT led the Friday rally with $86.8 million in, followed by Fidelity's FBTC at $64 million.
Good morning
— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) August 24, 2024
Yesterday's Bitcoin ETF flows were positive for $252 million and the weekly total was $506.4 million.
Blackrock did $86.8 million, Fidelity $64 million, Bitwise $42.3 million, Ark $23.8 million, VanEck $14.4 million and BTC $50.8 million.
GBTC had $35.6 million of… pic.twitter.com/y7J11K7JFm
Four other Bitcoin ETFs logged positive inflows, while two had zero flows. Overall, U.S.-listed spot $BTC ETFs saw $252 million in inflows.
Powell hints September rate cuts
For several weeks now, financial markets have been on shaky ground as they awaited news from the U.S. central bank regarding interest rate cuts.
Jerome Powell, the Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said Sunday that "the time has come" for interest rate cuts, suggesting that the central bank may cut interest rates as soon as September.
His announcement moved markets, with most Asian equities rising Monday as investors saw an extra boost to help markets escape the grisly weekend market bloodbath from earlier this month.
Before Powell's statement, Bitcoin prices were at around $60,000, data from CoinGecko shows. At one point Sunday night, the digital currency hit $64,600. It has since retreated below $64,000, but has seen a nearly 10% surge in the past seven days.
Bad news hits crypto community
Bitcoin's weekend rally came despite news of Durov's arrest Saturday that hit the crypto community hard, but it appears the coin's price wasn't affected.
Durov, who co-founded the first version of The Open Network (TON) with his brother, was arrested at a French airport amid allegations that he failed to protect Telegram from criminal activity.
It remains to be seen how Bitcoin will fare in the next few days, especially as the community waits for more details about the arrest of Durov and how this will affect the TON blockchain ecosystem in the long run.
