Bitcoin price hits all-time high of over $73,000

Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high in past 24 hours, rising 1.5% to $73,737 (£57,563) during early morning trade on Thursday.

The price though fell below $73k by 12noon UK time, according to CoinGeko data.

Bitcoin has mostly held above $73k since the beginning of the week, bolstered by increased inflows from fund managers such as BlackRock (BLK) and Franklin Templeton (BEN), via spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Read more: Crypto live prices

A spot bitcoin ETF is a financial product that investors anticipate could open the gateway for mainstream capital to flood the crypto market.

On Monday, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) took in over $562m worth of bitcoin (BTC), the fourth-best day since its launch on January 11. The three days with the highest inflows were last Tuesday, totaling $788m, Wednesday, February 28th, with $612m, and Friday, February 29th, with $603m. The fund has now accumulated nearly 204,000 bitcoin, representing over $14.76bn in assets under management (AUM).

Bitcoin forecast to continue its rally

BitGo managing director Matt Ballensweig emphasised the significant inflows into bitcoin from fund managers via ETFs. "Institutions are starting to pile in through the nine new bitcoin ETFs. And the flows really don't lie here, there is demand for BTC as an asset. BlackRock through the IBIT ETF (IBIT) did $2bn in volume yesterday. In total, the ETFs now hold over $55bn in just their first 60 days of trading." Ballensweig told Yahoo Finance Live.

MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor gave his bullish prognosis on bitcoin's long term prospects this week. Saylor told Yahoo Finance Live this week that owning bitcoin was like owning an apartment in New York City, because of the long-term value it holds. "New York City is the endgame for people that want to live in the greatest city in North America. Bitcoin is the endgame for anybody that wants to own the greatest property in the 21st century," he said. Saylor called called the cryptocurrency "the best investment asset."

MicroStrategy (MSTR) recently increased its bitcoin holdings by 12,000, which Saylor says the company will continue doing. When asked by Yahoo Finance if MicroStrategy will use some of its bitcoin holdings to return money to shareholders or make an acquisition, Saylor was clear, "we believe that the highest, best use of capital is to buy bitcoin and hold the bitcoin" adding that "bitcoin is the winner" compared to other assets.

FCA to allow bitcoin-backed securities

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority gave bitcoin (BTC-USD) a boost this week after stating it would allow bitcoin-linked securities to be listed on the stock market.

On Monday, the FCA said it would "not object" to the creation of bitcoin and ethereum-backed (ETH-USD) exchange traded notes (ETNs). Issuers will now be able to apply to list ETNs that are backed by bitcoin and ethereum on the London Stock Exchange from April. However, the FCA added that it would not allow the sale of these financial products to retail investors or members of the public.

Read more: Bitcoin success with SEC fuels anticipation for ether spot ETF

ETNs are debt securities that track an underlying asset but are traded and settled through a central market entity, such as a stock exchange and securities depository.

Bitcoin halving approaching

The bitcoin price could also be bolstered by the upcoming “halving”, in which the amount of new bitcoin being generated is reduced.

The bitcoin halving is an event that happens about every four years and is expect to happen again this April. The halving will reduce the bitcoin reward that miners receive for validating blocks on the blockchain from the current 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

This could act as a supply crunch for the digital asset, potentially leading to a price appreciation.

Watch: Bitcoin ETFs poised for inflows from US pension plans, Standard Chartered analyst says | Future Focus

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