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Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has set an all-time high, but not in terms of price yet.
On-chain analytics platform Glassnode observes that the Bitcoin hashrate continues its aggressive expansion, achieving an ATH value of above 600 EH/s. This equates to 600 quintillion guesses every second made in an attempt to solve the block puzzle.
The rise in the Bitcoin hashrate stems from the excitement surrounding the launch of the first set of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S.
After months of speculation, the Bitcoin asset class has entered a new era with the SEC’s approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs for listing and trading.
Eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading Thursday morning, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, among others, with $4.6 billion in shares changing hands shortly after.
According to IntoTheBlock data, Bitcoin’s on-chain volume has reached its highest level since the FTX collapse. On Wednesday, Bitcoin had a total volume of $60 billion, nearly exclusively driven by large transactions.
Other Bitcoin metrics rise
According to Glassnode, capital continues to pour into the Bitcoin asset class, with the realized cap standing at $438 billion, just 6.4% behind its all-time high. This is the greatest percentage gain in 30 days since December 2021, indicating that new demand is entering the market.
Volume settled on-chain is also increasing, with over $5.7 billion in economic transfers resolved each day. This sentiment is shared by exchange flows, which is currently reaching $4.6 billion in inflows/ outflows per day, indicating a growing increase in investor activity.
Futures open interest is still high at $17.6 billion, with only 146 trading days since November 2020 registering a higher figure.
At the time of writing, the BTC price was down 2.95% in the last 24 hours to $45,708 after attaining highs of $49,102 in yesterday’s trading session.