London-based ETC Group, the firm responsible for listing the first crypto exchange-traded product on Germany’s Xetra digital stock exchange, will offer a new listing for Litecoin. In an announcement today, the ETC Group said its physical Litecoin exchanged-traded crypto, under the ticker ELTC, will be launching on Deutsche Börse Xetra on April 14. According to the firm, the exchange-traded product, or ETP, will be the first Litecoin (LTC) product on the exchange following approval from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, or BaFin. "The current economic uncertainty has underlined the attraction of crypto assets for investors as they offer opportunities for …

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone equated the current consolidation in Bitcoin (BTC) price to that of a “caged bull, well-rested to escape.” When compared with the rallies a year after the previous two Bitcoin halvings in 2012 and 2016, the strategist called the current price action “tame.’ According to McGlone, Bitcoin is “still in price-discovery mode” and its plateau is still far away. While Bitcoin remains in focus, altcoins have continued to steal the show. Bitcoin’s market dominance, which stood closer to 70% on Jan. 4 has continued to slide even though its price has risen more than …

Hong Kong tech company Meitu revealed on April 8 that it had added $10 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to its holdings which were purchased at an average rate of $57,000 per coin. After the latest purchase, Meitu’s total cryptocurrency portfolio consists of $49.5 million worth of Bitcoin and $50.5 million worth of Ether (ETH). This acquisition shows that institutional investors are confident that the rally in Bitcoin is still in its early stages. Tom Jessop, Fidelity’s head of the crypto division, believes that Bitcoin has reached a tipping point and that traditional finance companies will continue to adopt cryptocurrency …

According to CoinShares, the institutional inflow into crypto products hit $4.5 billion in Q1, which is 11% higher than the intake seen in Q4 2020. This shows that institutional interest is on the rise but the quarter-on-quarter growth has slowed down from the 240% recorded in Q4 2020. As Bitcoin price moves higher, more funds are needed to sustain the levels. Therefore, if institutional inflows do not pick up in the next few days, Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins could witness a major correction. The next correction could test the resolve of institutional investors and even though these investors have …

The total crypto market capitalization reached the important milestone of $2 trillion on April 5. As cryptocurrencies increase in value, they are likely to attract further investments from institutional investors because they can no longer afford to neglect it. Less than three months ago, the crypto market had reached the $1 trillion in market cap for the first time ever. This rate of growth shows that investors are hugely bullish on the potential of the sector and the ones who delay their investment decisions may have to enter at much higher levels. Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood is …

According to a recent research note by JPMorgan, institutional investors have withdrawn about $20 billion from their gold investments since mid-October and during the same time frame, institutional inflows into Bitcoin (BTC) have increased by $7 billion. The bank said, “any such crowding out of gold as an 'alternative' currency implies big upside for Bitcoin over the long term." JPMorgan believes that Bitcoin’s declining volatility could increase adoption from institutional investors. If that happens, the value of the private investments in Bitcoin may mirror that of gold and this gives Bitcoin an upside target of $130,000 in the long term, …

Following in the footsteps of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs has announced plans to allow its wealth management clients to trade in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. In an interview with CNBC, Mary Rich, the global head of digital assets for Goldman Sachs private wealth management division, said that the rollout may happen sometime in the second quarter of 2021. Bitcoin adoption by two of the world’s preeminent investment banks is likely to force other banks to walk down the crypto path sooner than later. The arrival of fresh money from the clients of these legacy institutions may further increase demand …

On Monday Visa announced that it had launched a pilot program with Crypto.com to enable its partners to settle fiat transactions by sending USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin to Visa’s Ethereum address at Anchorage digital bank. This step by Visa shows that legacy finance companies are increasing their adoption of cryptocurrencies. According to a PwC report reviewed by Bloomberg, crypto mergers and acquisitions soared to $1.1 billion in 2020 compared to $481 million in 2019. The increase in these deals is likely to surpass the 2020 numbers on every single metric with the arrival of large investors and institutional players according …

Glassnode data shows Bitcoin (BTC) exchange reserves on Coinbase have dropped by about $8 billion. This indicates that institutional investors are locking away their purchases in cold storage for the long term instead of booking profits. HODLing by institutions is a huge positive as it will continue to reduce Bitcoin's available supply, which may boost prices even if demand begins to diminish. The news flow suggests no slowdown in institutional adoption. New Zealand Wealth Funds Management revealed that its product KiwiSaver Growth Strategy allocated 5% of its assets to Bitcoin in October 2020. According to the firm’s chief investment officer …

On March 24, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that U.S. buyers are now able to purchase Tesla vehicles with Bitcoin (BTC). Musk also tweeted that Tesla will not convert BTC payments into fiat but will add to its existing treasury of about 48,000 Bitcoin. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives expects Bitcoin to account for less than 5% of Tesla transactions, but the percentage could move up as crypto adoption increases. The analyst said the move by Tesla could be a defining moment for Bitcoin from a transactional point of view. This week, CNBC host Jim Cramer thanked Anthony Pompliano on …

The Turkish lira lost 15% of its value and dipped close to its all-time low after Turkey's President Erdogan fired central bank governor Naci Agbal. This resulted in a massive spike in Bitcoin (BTC) searches in Turkey as investors sought to protect their wealth from devaluation. This is just another example that shows how investors may be treating Bitcoin as a possible substitute for fiat currencies. In other news, United States Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has a different view. While speaking at an event hosted by the Bank for International Settlements, Powell said that Bitcoin is more of a …

A report by Deutsche Bank Research said that Bitcoin (BTC) has become “too important to ignore” and may attract regulation by the end of 2021. Deutsche Bank analysts expect Bitcoin to reach a turning point in about “two or three years” when it will be clear whether Bitcoin will evolve into an asset class or not. In the short term, the report forecast Bitcoin to “remain ultra volatile.” A different report by Bank of America provided some insight into the possible reasons for Bitcoin’s volatility. Bank of America analysts estimated that Bitcoin price may rise by one percent when there …