Bitcoin Tops $86K Amid Strong ETF Inflows, 3x Crypto Products Win Approval

The crypto market is on the move: Bitcoin (BTC) gained 3.6% on the weekly chart and 2.2% on the daily chart, trading at US$86,682 (AU$124,739) at the time of writing. Ethereum (ETH) is also up 2.6% on the weekly chart, while XRP gained 1% over the same period. Solana (SOL) is up 0.45%, while Zcash (ZEC) is down 14.5% after a stellar run over the past few weeks.

Bitcoin ended September in the green, following a positive August. This breaks a long-standing pattern, as it is the first time a positive August has been followed by a positive September.

Analysts at QCP Capital called the move “consistent with a concentrated flow trade in an asset with a new regulatory catalyst and improved technical positioning”.

After the failure of the CLARITY Act, US agencies the SEC and CFTC stepped up and promised to provide guidance on crypto regulation within their respective remits. The SEC specifically issued a 17 September “innovation exemption”.

[A] conditional exemption (the “Innovation Exemption”) to allow limited trading of tokenized NMS stocks on certain onchain venues—Tokenized Securities Venues.

SEC

According to QCP, on the technical side, resistance is at US$87,400 (AU$125,654), with support at US$82,500 (AU$118,610).

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ETF Inflows and New Approvals

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) support “this assessment of flow-driven positioning”, the analysts wrote.

September saw around US$2.65 billion (AU$3.81 billion) in net inflows into the funds, with BlackRock’s IBIT recording the largest net inflows at US$1.81 billion (AU$2.6 billion), followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at about US$682 million (AU$981.1 million).

The funds ended the week in positive territory following US$148.7 million (AU$213.9 million) in net outflows on Wednesday, with approximately US$133 million (AU$191.3 million) in net inflows across Thursday and Friday.

Read also: US Spot Bitcoin ETF 9-Day Streak Ends, as $150M Leave Funds

Meanwhile, the approval of 3x Bitcoin and Ether products marks a notable expansion of leveraged crypto exposure in the US, giving traders access to much higher daily sensitivity through regulated exchange-traded products. It also suggests issuers may now have a clearer path to launch similarly leveraged commodity and crypto strategies under the Securities Act of 1933.