Bitcoin Surges to $74K as ETFs Boom with Record $5.3B Volume

Bitcoin's recent rally has been fueled by increased institutional activity in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recorded over $5.3 billion in trading volume as BTC reclaimed $74,000 for the first time in 86 days.

BlackRock's IBIT dominated activity with $4.44 billion in volume, followed by Fidelity's FBTC at $438 million and Grayscale at $208.8 million. Other notable participants included Bitwise, ARK Invest, VanEck, Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, Valkyrie, WisdomTree, and Hashdex.

The ETFs also attracted $517.19 million in net inflows on the same day, with eight out of 12 funds recording positive flows. BlackRock's IBIT led the way with $284.7 million, followed by ARK and 21Shares' ARKB at $77.7 million and Fidelity's FBTC at $62.4 million.

The rally has triggered a major short squeeze, with over $3.6 billion in short positions liquidated over the past 72 hours, including $2.75 billion in Bitcoin shorts on Wednesday.