(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin touched $65,000 for the first time in about three weeks, aided by reviving demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds amid signs that the Federal Reserve is set to loosen monetary policy.
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The largest digital asset rose as much as 1.2% to $65,030 on Monday before dipping back to $63,780 as of 9:19 a.m. in New York. The cryptocurrency advanced 7.4% last week, the sharpest increase for such a period since mid-July.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday gave the clearest indication yet that the central bank is on course to cut benchmark rates from a more than two-decade high, portending a more favorable liquidity backdrop for global markets.
Powell’s signal spurred a $252 million net inflow — the highest in more than a month — into a group of one dozen US spot-Bitcoin ETFs the same day, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The funds have attracted inflows for seven straight days. Investment products holding Ether saw $36 million in net outflows last week, according to data compiled by CoinShares.
“All eyes are on the Fed,” said Cici Lu McCalman, founder of blockchain adviser Venn Link Partners, adding that a September rate cut may boost Bitcoin.
Unlike the Bitcoin portfolios, a group of US spot-Ether ETFs suffered a net outflow on Aug. 23. Ether was on the back foot on Monday, dropping as much as 2.1%. Other major tokens were little changed.
Toncoin, a token from a blockchain linked to messaging app Telegram, nursed losses after the latter’s co-founder Pavel Durov was detained in France.
–With assistance from Sidhartha Shukla.
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