Bitcoin clears $68,000- now within spitting distance of 2021 record

investing.com:

Investing.com-- Prices of Bitcoin cleared key levels in Asian trade on Tuesday, and were now less than $1,000 shy of a record high hit during the peak of a bull run in 2021. 

The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 8.5% to an over two-year high of $68,450.9, and was trading comfortably above the $68,000 level by 20:05 ET (01:05 GMT). It was now within spitting distance of a $68,999 record high hit in late-2021. 

Gains in Bitcoin were driven chiefly by steady capital inflows into the token, especially after the approval of several U.S. exchange-traded funds that directly track the token’s price.

Its correlation with technology stocks also factored into the token’s recent gains, while markets awaited an upcoming halving in the rate at which new Bitcoin is generated- an event that is expected to tighten markets. 

Data from digital asset manager CoinShares showed Bitcoin-linked investment products saw a fifth straight week of capital inflows in the week to March 4, a total of $1.7 billion. While short positions on the token increased, U.S.-listed ETFs tracking Bitcoin, particularly offerings from BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) (NASDAQ:IBIT) and Fidelity (NYSE:FBTC), commanded the lion’s share of inflows. 

On the other hand, Grayscale (NYSE:GBTC) continued to see sustained outflows, as it grappled with increased competition in the Bitcoin ETF space. 

Sentiment towards Bitcoin was also boosted by Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), the largest corporate holder of the token, saying it will issued $600 million in debt to buy more Bitcoin.

World no.2 crypto Ethereum rose 4% to a two-year high of $3,624.03, as focus also remained on a spot ETF approval for the token. Crypto-linked stocks also rallied on Wall Street.

Still, crypto