Major cryptocurrencies experienced a significant surge on Sunday evening, largely attributable to the performance of Bitcoin throughout the week, breaking through the $31,000 mark on Monday.

In a single day, Bitcoin's price continued to skyrocket, hitting $35,000.

Bitcoin's price surged to as high as $35,000 on Oct.24. Source: Coinlive

Why is Bitcoin Pumping?

The recent rallies in cryptocurrency prices at the beginning of the week are largely believed to be a result of the growing excitement surrounding the potential approval of Bitcoin spot ETF applications by the SEC.

Investors and the market at large have been eagerly anticipating the introduction of a Bitcoin ETF as it would open up new avenues for investing in the digital asset and potentially bring in a wave of institutional investors.

This sudden increase led to the liquidation of $114 million worth of Bitcoin shorts within the last hour, with a total of $145 million liquidated across the entire crypto market, as reported previously on Coinlive.

What is ETF and Why is it Important?

source: BlackRock

Investors who choose to invest in Bitcoin ETFs are essentially purchasing shares or units of a fund that utilises Bitcoin as its underlying asset.

This innovative investment vehicle provides a convenient avenue for individuals to gain exposure to Bitcoin's performance without the need to set up and manage a digital wallet or navigate cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bitcoin ETFs typically hold a diversified basket of Bitcoin rather than a single unit, which can yield several benefits, notably diversification.

This diversification minimizes the risks associated with a single cryptocurrency holding.

Additionally, investors enjoy the ease of daily buying and selling of shares, a feature reminiscent of other publicly-traded securities.

BlackRock's Progress Towards a Bitcoin ETF

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is making strides in its efforts to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The company's proposed iShares Bitcoin Trust, with the ticker symbol IBTC, has been listed on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website.

While this listing doesn't guarantee approval, it signifies growing confidence in the SEC ultimately granting permission.

Eric Balchunas, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, described IBTC as a groundbreaking spot Bitcoin ETF set to be listed on DTCC.

DTCC plays a significant role in the financial market infrastructure, handling trillions of dollars in securities transactions daily.

Crypto Inflows

source:CoinShares

Crypto investment products have witnessed four consecutive weeks of inflows, a trend fueled by the anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the United States.

According to CoinShares' weekly fund flows report, these products accumulated $179 million in the week ending October 20, pushing the sector's total assets under management to $33 billion.

Of the inflows, a significant portion, $55.3 million (84%), went to Bitcoin investment products. This brought the year-to-date Bitcoin product inflows to $315 million.

However, these recent inflows still fall short of the levels observed when BlackRock initially filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year.

In June, a four-week inflow streak brought in $807 million, highlighting a more cautious approach by investors this time.

Solana products secured the second-largest share of inflows, netting $15.5 million, while Ether products experienced outflows of $7.4 million, making it the only altcoin with negative flows during the week.

Bitcoin Dominance

Bitcoin dominance represents the percentage of Bitcoin's total market capitalization compared to the cumulative market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined.

Given that Bitcoin was the pioneering cryptocurrency and continues to maintain the largest market capitalization, its dominance holds a significant position in the crypto market.

Bitcoin's dominance in the overall crypto market has been on the rise, reaching 52.45%, its highest level since April 2021.

This trend is consistent with a bullish breakout observed in June, indicating a reversal of the decline in Bitcoin's dominance from the 60% to 40% range during the previous bull market.

Market analysts anticipate this dominance to continue growing in the coming days, potentially reaching key Fibonacci resistance at 60.17% once it establishes a foothold above the June high of 52.18%. This shift could mean that Bitcoin will outperform altcoins, reversing some of the gains made by altcoins in the first half of 2021.

Altcoins Follow Bitcoin's Lead

As Bitcoin surged, altcoins followed suit. The majority of altcoins saw gains, with notable double-digit price increases in several, including LINK, SOL and ADA with LINK increasing by 18%, SOL by 16% and ADA by 10%.

Memecoins were also on the rise, the total marketcap for the memecoin category has risen by 6% with a total trading volume of $1.6 billion, up by 120% the past 24 hours

Source: CoinMarketCap

Popular memecoins like DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE increased by 6%, 3% and 18% respectively.

However, smaller memecoins like MOG has risen by a staggering 120% the past 24 hours.

Bull Run?

As the crypto market continues to evolve and Bitcoin's dominance surges, the question arises: is this the end of the crypto winter and the start of a new bull run?

The excitement surrounding Bitcoin ETFs, alongside the renewed momentum in the broader cryptocurrency market, certainly hints at a significant turning point.

But only time will tell if this marks the beginning of a sustained and robust bull run in the world of cryptocurrencies.