Cryptocurrency stocks surged Monday as bitcoin eclipsed its $74,000 level for the first time since early February. The world's top crypto has seen a resurgence in ETF flows amid the Iran war and related conflicts in the Middle East.
The price of bitcoin Monday afternoon traded around $73,900, easing from its earlier high of $74,468. Bitcoin is still up more than 3.4% over the past 24 hours, coinciding with a dip in the 10-year Treasury Yield and U.S. dollar index. Gold futures eased 71 basis points Monday, according to CME Group data.
The shift comes as crude oil prices pulled back from recent highs, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday the critical Strait of Hormuz was open to all countries except its "enemies:" Israel and the U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures declined 5.57% Monday to 93.21, CME Group data shows.
Meanwhile, bitcoin's price surged about 17% from its Feb. 28 low after the start of the Iran war. Institutional investors have poured funds back into spot bitcoin ETFs, which notched three consecutive weeks of inflows on Friday.
The group of ETFs have recorded $1.34 billion in inflows so far in March, after four straight months of outflows.
"I believe the divergence in ETF flows between bitcoin and gold during the Iran conflict signals a meaningful shift in institutional capital behavior," Gracy Chen, CEO of exchange Bitget wrote in a Friday note. "Increasingly, digital assets are being viewed as resilient stores of value during geopolitical stress, particularly as bitcoin's supply dynamics differ fundamentally from traditional commodities."
Chen added that this current market rotation comes amid a different crypto market.
Unlike previous cycles marked by cascading failures and systemic collapses, the present environment reflects deeper institutional participation and stronger market structure," she said. "The market appears to be undergoing a more gradual reset as capital reallocates and speculative excess is absorbed."
Bitcoin Fuels Crypto Stock Surge
TeraWulf (WULF) rallied nearly 12% Monday.
Bitdeer Tehnologies (BTDR) and stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) both jumped more than 9%.
Iren (IREN) surged 8% and Cipher Digital (CIFR) popped more than 7%. Hut 8 (HUT) advanced 6%.
Crypto exchanges Bullish (BLSH) spiked 8, while Coinbase (COIN) swung 4% higher.
