Bitcoin dominance rises to 2.5-year high as price pierces $35K

Bitcoin’s (BTC) market moves this week pushed the asset into fresh local highs as the world’s largest digital asset further cemented its lead against other major blue-chip cryptos.

The asset rose above $30,000 early Monday morning before driving higher, blowing past several resistance levels not seen since the collapse of Terra in May of last year.

Bitcoin is now trading around $34,100, down slightly, after climbing more than 14% and reaching a peak of just over $35,100 in early Tuesday trading. The activity has sent the asset’s dominance, or total share of the market, to a two-and-a-half-year high, of around 54%.

Aditya Jalan, trading manager for APAC at FalconX told Blockworks BTC’s dominance was lining up with trading activity from institutional investors who have been “strongly skewed” toward buying BTC over ETH in the last week.

“Without a new and compelling narrative for ETH, we see no reason for this BTC dominance to dissipate in the near future,” Jalan said. 

“We are also seeing institutions being constructive in BTC options markets with an increased appetite for upside structures in the $32,000-$36,000 strikes with one-month expiry.”

Bitcoin trading has witnessed heavy volatility, with roughly $1 billion in open interest evaporated over a 24-hour period. Total short liquidations for the bellwether asset have also risen to more than $216 million — the largest to date this year, CoinGlass data shows.

Le Shi, head of trading at Auros told Blockworks “several interplaying factors” are contributing to the heady price action, including last week’s false ETF news which flushed an initial $100 million worth of shorts.

“Despite being inaccurate, the tweet re-invigorated interest in the ETF approval narrative, which together with the price action as mentioned earlier, helped propel bullish bets towards $30,000.”

Shi said he also believed the market received an “indirect boost” later in the week when the SEC moved to drop its lawsuit against Ripple founders, further stoking speculation that the floodgates might soon open for regulated listings.

The bullish uplift followed a formalized win in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals for Grayscale Investments in its bid against the SEC to convert its bitcoin trust (GBTC) to an ETF on Monday.

While just a formality — in which the SEC will now have to mediate with Grayscale on a potential path forward — industry participants are growing increasingly optimistic about that outcome, Blockworks previously reported.

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