Uptober has arrived with great news for Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts. The price of Bitcoin has crossed the $34,000 mark for the first time since May last year, skyrocketing by an astonishing 14% in the past 24 hours.
On October 23, Bitcoin suddenly experienced a surge in price, with its value jumping more than 10% from $31,000 to briefly touch $34,000 before stabilizing at the current price of $33,349, according to data from TradingView.
Several factors contributed to this sudden increase in Bitcoin’s price. One of them is the renewed interest in upcoming spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) approvals and a significant surge in overall trading volumes in the spot markets. Additionally, developments related to BlackRock’s proposed spot Bitcoin ETF have also influenced market sentiment.
Analyst Scott Johnson’s Twitter post on October 23 highlighted two pieces of information that suggest BlackRock, a leading investment giant, may be getting closer to securing approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF. Johnson pointed out that BlackRock had obtained a specific “CUSIP” license, and there are indications that they might start the process of “seeding” their spot ETF product with cash as early as this month.
Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas acknowledged that seeding an ETF usually involves a relatively small amount of money. However, he emphasized that this development is a positive sign and represents another step in the launching process of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
In addition to the price surge, Bitcoin’s spot trading volumes also experienced significant growth. Within the past 24 hours, spot trading volume exceeded $35 billion, marking a notable 241% increase during this period, as reported by Coinmarketcap.
Although Bitcoin led the way with the largest price surge, the positive momentum in the market also impacted other cryptocurrencies. Ethereum’s native currency Ether (ETH) experienced a growth of 7%, Solana (SOL) saw a significant increase of 11%, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 8%, and Cardano (ADA) had a more modest gain of 5%.
The sudden market movement left many crypto market commentators and community members astonished. Independent journalist Autism Capital expressed their surprise on Twitter, asking their followers, “what the heck just happened?”
Taking a broader perspective, the recent surge in cryptocurrency prices seems to be supported by favorable market conditions. Data from Coinshares reveals that digital asset investment products witnessed four consecutive weeks of inflows.
Overall, the current market environment is positive for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The growing interest in ETF approvals, coupled with increased trading volumes and the inflow of investment into digital assets, bodes well for the future of cryptocurrencies. It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin can sustain its upward trajectory and reach even higher price levels.