Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Rise. Why ETF Activity Is Driving Cryptos Higher. — Barrons.com

By Brian Swint

The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was rising Thursday, buoyed by reports that institutional investors were drawing in capital to exchange-traded funds focused on digital assets.

Bitcoin ETF inflows have reached almost $50 billion, a report by SosoValue showed. It's another sign that cryptos are maintaining attention from mainstream investors and they're becoming more established as an asset class.

Bitcoin added 1.7% over the past 24 hours to hit a price of $109,758. That's close to the record high of $111,000. Ethereum, the second-biggest crypto, was up 5.8% and XRP gained 4.8%. Solana rose 3.6% and Dogecoin advanced 7.6%.

The price gains came even with stocks broadly flat before the market open. Cryptos usually trade more or less in line with riskier technology stocks, but the futures tracking the Nasdaq 100 were up less than 0.1%.

The latest news on President Donald Trump's trade deal with Vietnam, and the easing of restrictions on exports of chip design software to China, may help tech stocks as markets head into a shortened trading day. The stock exchange is closed on Friday for the July 4 holiday.

Any signs that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates sooner rather than later could also provide a boost — the next key data point is payrolls for June, out Thursday morning.

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

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