Bitcoin hovers around $52k ahead of holiday weekend

Bitcoin’s looking to close out the week at nearly $52,000.

After a week of earnings — including beats from Robinhood and Coinbase — and more inflows for the bitcoin ETFs, the price of bitcoin is up 12% in the last seven days.

Data from BitMEX shared early Friday show that the ETFs had net flows of $477 million on Thursday. Inflows for the spot, bitcoin ETFs hit a fresh high at the end of last week, with the funds receiving roughly $1.2 billion in assets.

“After a post-ETF-lull, active CME traders have re-entered the market in force over the past week. Open interest from active traders is up 48% (22,000 BTC), and CME premiums have pushed back up to Q4 levels of 18%,” K33 Research analysts wrote earlier this week.

Read more: Bitcoin ETFs now $2B up on inflows to date, led by BlackRock

However, as CryptoQuant noted in a post late Thursday, bitcoin open interest is “currently very high,” hitting levels not seen since 2021 and 2022.

“High futures open interest reflects market bullishness but also brings leverage, and therefore potentially higher volatility ahead,” David Lawant, head of research at FalconX, said. “Although the positive outlook remains intact, it is important to remember that crypto bull markets don’t come without temporary corrections on the way.”

But bitcoin isn’t the only one benefitting from the bitcoin ETF’s net flows. The market cap for crypto grew by nearly 15% — not including stablecoins — to over $2 trillion this week, according to data from FalconX. 

“Non-BTC assets start to get spicy only after BTC breaks all-time highs, and I don’t see a good reason why it would be different this time,” Lawant continued.

Bitcoin (BTC) is roughly 20% off its previous all-time high, while ether (ETH) is “lagging, as it did at this point in the last cycle, but by a lower amount than back then.”

Earlier this week, bitcoin hit $50,000 before climbing higher. While ETF flows remain in focus for now, the halving is quickly approaching in just over two months.

Read more: Coinbase reported Q4 earnings Thursday. Here’s what stood out.

“The fourth Bitcoin halving in mid-April is perhaps the most symbolic halving to date, showcasing Bitcoin’s digital scarcity,” Thomas Perfumo, head of strategy at Kraken, told Blockworks.

Looking at equity markets, Coinbase is on a tear Friday, up over 10% at the time of publication. The stock’s boost comes after the company reported its first positive net income during the quarter since 2021. 

It also noted positive adjusted EBITDA in all four quarters last year, amounting to roughly $960 million.

The stock, following earnings, hit a two-year high earlier Friday. Shares are up 184% over the past year.

Earlier this week, Robinhood started the earnings surprises by reporting crypto revenue of $43 million. Overall transaction revenues, the firm said, rose 8% year-over-year to $200 million.

The stock was up nearly 5% an hour before market close on Friday, nearing its 52-week high of $14.36. Shares are up 21% in the past five days.

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