The total cryptocurrency market cap has reached $2 trillion for the first time since April 2022, driven by several factors including the prospect of easing monetary policy, enthusiasm for spot bitcoin ETFs, and the upcoming bitcoin halving event. In the last 24 hours, the total crypto market cap has gained 4.61%.
Bitcoin, the world's largest token by market cap, has surged 6.4% to reach $51,620. This is the first time since December 2021 that Bitcoin has regained its $1 trillion market cap. So far this year, Bitcoin has gained over 21%. Ether, the second-largest token, has climbed about 5% to reach $2,740, marking its highest level since May 2022.
According to analytics firm CoinShares, digital asset investment products saw inflows of $1.1 billion last week, bringing the year-to-date flows to $2.7 billion. The majority of these inflows were seen in spot bitcoin ETFs. The increased demand for these ETFs comes a few months ahead of the bitcoin halving event, which will reduce the reward for bitcoin miners by half. Previous halving events have historically been followed by all-time highs in the next 12 months.
Analysts believe that bitcoin's price appreciation has had a positive impact on sentiment for other cryptocurrencies like ether and Cardano. Smaller inflows were also seen in Avalanche and Polygon.
MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor, a prominent bitcoin bull, stated in an interview with CNBC that the halving event will lead to strong gains for current holders of the token. He also mentioned that there is greater demand for bitcoin through ETFs compared to the supply from miners.
Overall, the recent surge in the total cryptocurrency market cap can be attributed to a combination of factors, including easing monetary policy, increasing interest in spot bitcoin ETFs, and the anticipation of the bitcoin halving event. These developments have boosted sentiment and led to gains across major tokens like bitcoin and ether.