This week, most cryptocurrency assets have renewed their annual highs: BTC is trading around 61500.00 ( 18.8%), ETH is at 3400.00 ( 9.4%), USDT is around 0.9996 ( 0.04%), BNB – near 405.0 ( 3.6%), and SOL – around 133.50 ( 29.0%). The total market capitalization increased to 2.29T dollars, and the share of BTC on it increased to 52.7%.

Long-term fundamental factors for positive dynamics remain the same – the launch of a Bitcoin ETF, the expectation of an imminent halving in the BTC network and the associated activation of institutional and private investors, as well as market hopes for an easing of monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve by the middle of this year. On Monday, the catalyst for the digital sector strengthening was the expiration of settlement deadlines for BTC futures, after which traders began to increase their “bullish” positions in anticipation of the April halving. It led not only to the strengthening of the position of the world’s first cryptocurrency but also the main altcoins, and the total capitalization of the sector exceeded 2.0T dollars, the high since 2021.

Meanwhile, the volume of investments in new exchange-traded funds continues to grow, slowing down slightly from February 20 to 23. According to analysts at BitMEX Research, the figure amounted to 650.0B dollars, but on Wednesday, the largest inflow of funds into the Bitcoin ETF since the launch of the Bitcoin ETF in the amount of 673.4M dollars was recorded. The activity of retail traders is increasing, as evidenced by an increase in the volume of transactions on the Block and Robinhood platforms, and on Wednesday, on the Coinbase exchange, an increased client demand for BTC disrupted its work. As a result of changes in investor interest, there is a shortage of token supply: according to various estimates, currently, 300.0–900.0 coins are mined daily, not enough to meet market needs, while miners are holding back part of the produced volume in anticipation of the halving, supporting the quotes.

As for the monetary factor, January data on the core price index of personal consumption expenditures in the United States recorded a decrease in the indicator from 2.9% to 2.8%, reflecting the weakening of inflationary pressures in the national economy, which will allow US Federal Reserve officials to switch to dovish rhetoric in June. The fundamental picture remains positive but experts do not rule out a correction due to partial profit-taking by investors.

Among the news of the week, it is worth highlighting the announcement by the Kraken exchange of the launch of a new service, Kraken Institutional, which should make it easier for institutional investors to enter the platform, access the digital assets, and staking. The management of the eToro investment platform confirmed its intention to enter an initial public offering (IPO), without giving specific dates.

Cryptoinvestor sentiment remains positive, which could lead to continued positive momentum in the sector.