Bitcoin Touches $65,000 for First Time in Three Weeks as ETF Demand Revives

- Bitcoin touched $65,000 for the first time in about three weeks, aided by reviving demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds amid signs that the Federal Reserve is set to loosen monetary policy.

Bitcoin rose above $64,000 on Monday, notching a fresh three-week high as demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds perked up amid signs that the Federal Reserve is set to loosen monetary policy.

The world's largest cryptocurrency gained 1.2% to $65,030, before easing back to trade at $64,000 as of 1:35 p.m. Singapore time (0535 GMT). It rose 7.4% last week, marking its sharpest such increase since mid-July.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday gave the clearest indication yet that the central bank is on course to cut benchmark rates from a more-than-two-decade high, setting the stage for a more favourable liquidity backdrop for global markets.

Powell's signal spurred a $252 million net inflow - the highest in more than a month - into a group of one dozen US spot-Bitcoin ETFs on Aug. 23, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The funds have now attracted inflows for seven straight days.

"All eyes are on the Federal Reserve," said Cici Lu McCalman, founder of blockchain adviser Venn Link Partners, adding that a September rate cut could lift Bitcoin.

"However, if the Fed pivots too quickly, it could spook markets and lead to a sell-off in riskier assets like crypto."

In contrast to the Bitcoin funds, a group of US spot-Ether ETFs suffered a net outflow on Aug. 23. Ether fell on Monday, dropping as much as 1.7%. Other major tokens were largely flat.

Toncoin, a token from a blockchain linked to messaging app Telegram, nursed losses after the latter's co-founder Pavel Durov was detained in France.

The broader cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.03 trillion, and the total volume of decentralized finance (DeFi) was about $10.03 billion during the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 56, indicating Greed, compared with 53を示すFear on Friday, according to alternative.me. A reading of below 25 indicates "Extreme Fear," while a reading above 75 indicates "Extreme Greed" on a scale of 0 to 100.

Reporting by JJ Robinson in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich