First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Rallies as TradFi Players Jump Into Crypto

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Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, rallied over the past 24 hours after various traditional finance firms announced moves into the crypto market, indicating bullish sentiment. Bitcoin jumped 8% on the day, pushing it to $28,800, after trading flat for the last few days at around $26,800. Altcoins also surged, with bitcoin cash (BCH) rallying over 20% in the same time period. Banking giant Deutsche Bank announced Tuesday that it had applied for a digital asset custody license in Germany and crypto exchange EDX Markets (which is backed by the likes of Citadel Securities and Fidelity,) started offering trading for BTC, ether (ETH), litecoin and bitcoin cash. Just last week, BlackRock filed for a spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) too. “This move towards crypto by major financial institutions reflects a significant shift in their stance on the industry's potential, especially given the timing,” Mark L. Newton, head of technical strategy at FundStrat, said in a note.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) share price continued to soar on Tuesday on optimism about converting the fund into an ETF after BlackRock filed for a spot bitcoin ETF. The shares rose past $16 on secondary markets for the first time since May 10, according to TradingView data, and have gained some 24% since Thursday, the day of BlackRock's filing. The discount on GBTC’s share price relative to net asset value narrowed to as little as 33% Tuesday morning, according to CoinDesk’s calculation. This is the lowest level since last September, and lower than the 34% it recorded in early March.

Investment management company Invesco, which has $1.4 trillion assets under management, reapplied for a spot bitcoin ETF. In 2021, Invesco first filed for a bitcoin ETF in conjunction with Galaxy Digital. It also filed for a bitcoin futures ETF, but dropped the effort in October 2021 after a futures ETF by ProShares was approved and began trading first. In its filing, Invesco argued that the lack of a spot bitcoin ETF pushes investors toward riskier alternatives, as seen in insolvencies like FTX, Celsius Network, BlockFi and Voyager Digital Holdings. Invesco also emphasized the need for investor protection, saying that approval for such a spot bitcoin ETF hinges on a surveillance sharing agreement with a significant, regulated market, not on the regulation of the spot bitcoin market itself.