Bitcoin Above $28K Buoyed by California ‘BitLicense’ Bill Being Signed

Bitcoin (BTC) stood above the $28,400 level in European morning hours on Tuesday amid generally positive sentiment about the asset’s near-term future and a fundamental crypto law signed in the U.S., which likely helped buoy prices.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a crypto licensing bill on Friday, set to take effect in July 2025, in a move that could help benefit crypto businesses in the state and likely aid long-term industry growth.

Bulls seemed unfazed by the fake reports of BlackRock’s (BLK) spot bitcoin ETF being approved, which led to massive price volatility on Monday and saw bitcoin whipsaw to $30,000 and down to $27,900 before settling. Meanwhile, in a FOX Business interview, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the rally was suggestive of the "pent up interest in crypto."

"I think there's more people running into a flight to quality, whether that is in Treasuries, gold or crypto, depending on how you think of it. And I believe crypto will play that type of role, as a flight to quality," Fink said.

Read more: Bitcoin Jumps to $30K, Then Dumps, as False Spot ETF Approval Report Circulates

In the past 24 hours, bitcoin gained 2.1% to extend a two-day gain streak, while ether (ETH) and BNB Chain’s BNB tokens were little changed. Solana’s SOL jumped 6% to lead gains among crypto majors, while XRP and Cardano’s ADA lost as much as 0.3%.

The CoinDesk Market Index, a broad-based tracker of hundreds of tokens, popped 1.24%.

Tokens of popular decentralized exchange Uniswap (UNI) slipped 3% as traders reacted to the platform introducing a 0.15% swap fee for each trade made – which invoked mixed reactions among industry watchers on social app X.

Some market analysts said the appeal of crypto investing remained among investors, citing risk against reward opportunities.

“Relative to other assets, the risk vs. reward (or upside vs. downside) of crypto looks much better relative to other asset classes,” said Solo Cessay, co-founder of social app Calaxy, in a note to CoinDesk. “Crypto looks like it has the best upside vs. downside potential, given the current asset prices. Real estate, the S&P 500 - everything is still trading near all-time highs.”

Elsewhere, analysts at crypto Bitfinex shared in a weekly note that short-term bitcoin holders, or wallet addresses that move bitcoin in under six months, accounted for only 19.34% of the circulating supply, indicating a strong “holding sentiment.”

However, the Bitfinex analysts flagged market risks related to spot trading volumes on crypto hitting multi-year lows and rapidly increasing use of leverage among traders – creating a situation where prices can move quickly and cause outsized liquidations, such as those on Monday.

Read more: Bitcoin's Rising Dominance Rate Challenges Altcoin Boom From 2021