Bitcoin hits record above US$71,000 as demand frenzy intensifies

LONDON: Bitcoin hit a record high on Monday (Mar 11) above US$71,000, as the surge in the biggest cryptocurrency showed no signs of slowing down.

Britain's financial watchdog on Monday became the latest regulator to pave the way for digital asset trading products after saying on Monday it will now permit recognised investment exchanges to launch crypto-backed exchange-traded notes.

Bitcoin rose by as much as 4.8 per cent to a record US$71,677 in European trading, bringing gains for the year so far to 70 per cent.

The world's most valuable cryptocurrency has been boosted by a flood of cash into new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds as well as hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates.

Flows of capital into the 10 largest US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds slowed to a two-week low in the week to Mar 8, but still reached almost US$2 billion, according to LSEG data.

"Bitcoin has started the week with a surge, dragging the rest of the cryptocurrency space higher with it," DailyFX strategist Nick Cawley said.

Supply of bitcoin, which is limited to 21 million tokens, is going to get tighter in April, when the so-called halving event takes place.

Every four years, the rate at which new supply is released into circulation, as well as the reward for crypto miners, is halved, which tends to support the price.

"News also out earlier that the LSE plans to accept applications for bitcoin and ethereum ETNs in Q2 may have also helped today’s push higher," Cawley said.

The UK regulator said these products would be only available for professional investors such as investment firms and credit institutions authorised to operate in financial markets, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement.

The FCA warned crypto