The price of the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has crossed above the $50,000 mark for the first time in two years, largely over the launch of spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year.

Global investment manager Franklin Templeton, with $1.5 trillion worth of assets under management, has joined the race among Wall Street firms to launch a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

The co-founder and executive chairman of Nasdaq-listed business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, has attributed the rising price of Bitcoin to the recent introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting a significant supply-demand imbalance.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin’s Price Surpasses $50,000 for First Time Since December 2021
• Franklin Templeton Joins Spot Ether ETF Race
• MicroStrategy’s Saylor: Bitcoin ETFs Fuel Price Surge, Company to Rebrand as Bitcoin Developer

Bitcoin’s Price Surpasses $50,000 for First Time Since December 2021

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has crossed above the $50,000 mark for the first time in two years, largely over the launch of spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year.

This comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the launch of numerous funds from some of the world’s largest managers, including BlackRock and Fidelity, which have brought in roughly $3 billion in net flows.

These net flows came despite Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, which was converted into a spot Bitcoin ETF, seeing over $6 billion of outflows. As the cryptocurrency sector merges more with traditional finance, industry leaders are optimistic about mainstream investors diversifying their portfolios with crypto-based products.

Kathy Kriskey, senior alternatives ETF strategist at Invesco, emphasized the significance of investors moving beyond zero exposure to cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency has also been benefitting from expectations central banks will soon lower interest rates, and from anticipation surrounding its upcoming halving event.

The halving will cut in half the number of Bitcoins entering the market by reducing the coinbase reward miners receive for finding blocks.

Franklin Templeton Joins Spot Ether ETF Race

Global investment manager Franklin Templeton, with $1.5 trillion worth of assets under management, has joined the race among Wall Street firms to launch a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

The firm filed its application with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, aiming to list the "Franklin Ethereum ETF" on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. In an innovative move, Franklin Templeton plans to stake a portion of the ETF's Ether holdings to generate additional income, echoing a strategy recently adopted by ARK 21Shares.

By staking Ether from cold storage wallets, the ETF expects to earn staking rewards, which would be treated as income. The filing reads that it may “from time to time, stake a portion of the Fund’s assets through one or more trusted staking providers.”

Franklin Templeton faces competition from several other firms seeking SEC approval for their own spot Ether ETFs, including BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, Grayscale, and Hashdex.

The SEC has a series of deadlines to decide on these applications, with VanEck's deadline falling on May 23, ARK 21Shares on May 24, Hashdex by May 30, Grayscale by June 18, Invesco by July 5, and both Fidelity and BlackRock by early August.

MicroStrategy’s Saylor: Bitcoin ETFs Fuel Price Surge, Company to Rebrand as Bitcoin Developer

The co-founder and executive chairman of Nasdaq-listed business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, has attributed the rising price of Bitcoin to the recent introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting a significant supply-demand imbalance.

During a CNBC interview, Saylor said there's a tenfold higher demand for BTC through these ETFs compared to the supply available from “natural sellers” like miners. He noted there are “ten years of pent-up demand people have been waiting for these ETFs.”

Per his words, Bitcoin’s appeal comes from it being “uncorrelated to traditional risk assets and doesn’t come with exposure to any given country or company, quarterly result product cycle competitor, not to weather not to war, not to an employee base or supply chain.”

Further emphasizing MicroStrategy's commitment to the cryptocurrency, Saylor said the company is moving to rebrand and position itself as a Bitcoin development company. The move reflects its strategy to not only accumulate more BTC but also to foster the growth of the Bitcoin network.

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