The Zhitong Finance App learned that up to now, Bitcoin has broken through 68,000 US dollars, rising about 6,800 US dollars in the last 24 hours, reaching a high of 68,569.44 US dollars, approaching the record high of 68991.85 US dollars set on November 10, 2011. Since this year, Bitcoin has accumulated a cumulative increase of nearly 50%, and some market commentators have even predicted that Bitcoin is expected to break the $100,000 mark by the end of the year. CITIC Securities anticipates that the cryptocurrency market, which was dominated by retail investors in the past, will change to a certain extent, and more liquidity is expected to bring about short-term prosperity in cryptocurrencies in the first half of 2024. Related targets: Meitu (01357), Xinhuo Technology Holdings (01611), Ouke Cloud Chain (01499), OSL Group (00863).

As one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Bitcoin has risen nearly 50% this year, with most of the gains concentrated in recent weeks. In particular, spot Bitcoin ETFs listed in the US have ushered in large inflows of capital, which has contributed to the rapid rise in the price of Bitcoin.

The rise in the price of Bitcoin may be related to Bitcoin spot ETFs that have recently been approved and listed on exchanges. On January 10, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. Since then, the price of Bitcoin has increased by more than 10%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETF trading volume hit a record high.

Markus Thielen, head of research at the Singaporean cryptocurrency analysis agency 10x Research, said investors are confident that prices will rise, and capital inflows will continue. According to LSEG data, in the week ending March 1, net capital inflows into the top ten US spot Bitcoin funds reached US$2.17 billion.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's rise has spurred other cryptocurrencies. As of 5:45 p.m. on March 4, Beijing time, in the past 24 hours, Bitcoin rose 5.7%, Ethereum rose 3.63%, Doge (Doge) rose 14.64%, and Shiba Inu (Shib) rose 29.9%.

It is worth noting that Hong Kong has approved futures Bitcoin ETFs. Currently, there are two listed products, Southern East England Bitcoin Futures and Samsung Bitcoin Futures. Their assets are relatively small, and each fund's AUM is less than 100 million US dollars. According to Wind data, the net worth of the Southern East England Bitcoin Futures ETF increased by 134.51% in 2023. By the close of trading on February 27, the net fund value of the Southern East England Bitcoin Futures ETF had once again risen by nearly 30% this year.

Industry insiders believe that as the Bitcoin spot ETF market becomes more mature, more and more investors are integrating Bitcoin with traditional portfolios, and the ongoing marketing activities of these ETF issuers will continue to support the Bitcoin price.

Furthermore, two weeks after the Federal Reserve FOMC meeting in June, the Federal Reserve may officially cut interest rates for the first time, and the US presidential election at the end of the year all threw up favorable factors for the future price of Bitcoin.

James Harte (James Harte), an analyst at multi-asset brokerage firm Tickmill Group, said Bitcoin prices are likely to continue to rise in the short term as large investors and other key players put their cash back into Bitcoin before the April halving event. There are strong reasons for continuing this year's gains. Some market commentators have even predicted that Bitcoin is expected to break the $100,000 mark by the end of the year.

CITIC Securities said that the US Securities Regulatory Commission (SEC) has regulated cryptocurrency trading methods to a certain extent through the Bitcoin ETF. It is expected that the cryptocurrency market, which was dominated by retail investors in the past, will change to some extent, and more liquidity is expected to bring about short-term prosperity in cryptocurrencies in the first half of 2024.

Related concept stocks:

Meitu (01357): The company purchased Bitcoin and Ethereum a few years ago. As of June 2023, the company held 940.497 bitcoins and 31,000 ethers. The total cost of holding the two coins accounted for about 10% of the total assets. According to the costs disclosed in the semi-annual report, holding Bitcoin earned 161 million yuan and holding Ethereum earned 288 million yuan, making a total profit of 450 million yuan.

Xinhuo Technology Holdings (01611): The company used the name Huobi Technology and is currently one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the world. Xinhuo Technology Holdings mainly provides virtual asset transactions and technical solution services. Among them, virtual asset trading includes providing customers with virtual asset loan asset management and providing an OTC trading platform to act as an exchange.

Oke Cloud Chain (01499): According to the 2024 semi-annual report, the company “heavily stocks” digital currencies. Its digital assets are as high as HK$800 million, accounting for 75% of total assets. According to the disclosure, the company holds 1,725 bitcoins and 6571 ethers. The total value accounts for 43% of total assets, and 21.7% of the assets hold stablecoins.

OSL Group (00863): The company participated in UBS Group's pilot issuance of investment-grade warrants tokens in Hong Kong, China, and covered the entire product issuance cycle. In this project, UBS Group uses the Ethereum public chain to issue share-linked subscription tokens to OSL digital asset securities.