Bitcoin Breaks $30K Amid TradFi Push Into Crypto

Bitcoin has broken $30,000 for the second time this year amid bullish sentiment in the market following a number of traditional finance (TradFi) players pushing further into crypto.

The cryptocurrency has gained more than 10% over the past 24 hours. The last time bitcoin reached above $30,000 was on April of 2023, according to TradingView data.

"It seems that the crypto market is going to be completely restructured in the country by the biggest investment firms in the near future," Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at Web3 crypto and fiat service provider YouHodler, wrote in an email to CoinDesk. "More investors will have access to crypto investments with much lower risks. Important to notice that a very small percentage of BlackRock or Fidelity clients interested in spot BTC ETFs are enough to move the price further north."

The cryptocurrency's rally comes as several TradFi giants including BlackRock, Invesco and WisdomTree filed for spot bitcoin ETF applications. Meanwhile, EDX crypto exchange, which is backed by major TradFi players, also launched on Tuesday. The exchange is backed by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities and will offer four tokens in the U.S., including bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash and litecoin. Bitcoin cash (BHC) has also rallied following the news, gaining 25% on the day.

Other developments include banking giant Deutsche Bank announcing Tuesday that it had applied for a digital asset custody license in Germany.

TradFi players appear not to be deterred by a regulatory crackdown from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto exchanges.

In an email to CoinDesk, Leo Mizuhara, CEO of digital asset management platform Hashnote, wrote that the upswing "surprised a lot of observers" immersed in the "regulatory doom and gloom" that included Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuits earlier this month.

"We’re experiencing a confluence of events that is shaping up to be bullish for Bitcoin and digital assets more generally," Mizuhara wrote. "You now have institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity getting into the space in a significant way, and these moves appear not to have been priced in."

Mizuhara added that "the macro backdrop is shifting away from monetary tightening to one of loosening more generally, particularly in China but also, it seems, in the United States. I don’t want to make predictions, but the momentum is incredibly positive for the longer term and it’s exciting to see.”

CORRECTION (June 21, 2023, 15:40 UTC): Corrects headline, sub-head and story to say bitcoin hit $30k level second time this year.

UPDATE (June 21, 2023, 16:10 UTC): Adds Ruslan Lienkha comment.

UPDATE (JUNE 21, 2023, 23:06 UTC): Adds Leo Mizuhara comment.