Bitcoin Hovers Over $34K as BlackRock IBTC Ticker Euphoria Fades Out

Rapid gains in bitcoin BTC$90,399.98 prices seemed to pause Wednesday morning as traders likely took profits on a week-long rally, bumping bitcoin prices as much as 25% on hopes of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the U.S.

Major tokens showed mixed movement as Cardano’s ADA slipped 2%, while Solana’s SOL tokens added 3%, extending a week-long rally to nearly 30%. Growth in SOL tokens came as traders downplayed fears of a looming sell-off by the FTX bankruptcy estate.

The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad-based tracker of hundreds of tokens, rose 0.42%, suggesting slight gains across the overall market.

Meanwhile, some traders said signs of institutional adoption may be an indication of the end of ‘crypto winter’ – a colloquial term for a bear market characterized by lower prices and little venture capital investments.

“What we are potentially seeing is a permanent thawing of so-called ‘crypto winters.’ While the digital asset market will always have bulls and bears, institutional adoption is pushing us closer to perpetual spring,” shared Diogo Mónica, co-founder at Anchorage Digital, referring to the many spot ETF applications.

“Between recent price action and movement toward spot Bitcoin ETF approval, the long-term outlook for Bitcoin is the most promising it has been in recent memory—and institutions are just getting started,” Mónica added.

Elsewhere, crypto trading firm QCP Capital said in a Telegram broadcast that the anticipation of a spot bitcoin ETF was currently driving outsized demand for the asset.

“Steps taken by Blackrock, including a DTCC listing and tickerization (IBTC), gave the market hope that the SEC approval is imminent,” QCP said. “However, we do not think that this signals an impending SEC decision in the coming week.”

“Instead, we believe the SEC will avoid playing the role of kingmaker, sticking with its own precedent set during the BTC/ETH futures ETF approval process and will wait to approve multiple managers at the same time,” the firm opined.