For the first time this year, Bitcoin broke beyond $72,000, rising for a sixth day in a row and bringing its gains to nearly 70% thanks to significant inflows into US exchange-traded funds.

On Monday, the original cryptocurrency saw a 5% gain to $72,880 before retreating. Avalanche, Solana, and Ether, among other smaller tokens, also made progress. Gains in cryptocurrencies coincided with mixed stock prices ahead of a significant report on US inflation.

Senior analyst at K33 Research Vetle Lunde stated, "It's a full on continuation of last week's trend." "Traders are obviously taking risks."

Since a fresh set of Bitcoin ETFs were introduced in the US two months ago, investors have poured a net amount of roughly $10 billion into them, sparking a widespread spike in the cryptocurrency markets. On Monday, digital assets gained additional momentum when the London Stock Exchange declared that it will consider applications for the admission of Ether and Bitcoin ETFs and when Thailand's securities commission announced that individual investors would be permitted to purchase foreign cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes.

According to Chris Newhouse, a DeFi analyst at Cumberland Labs, "some people might have seen that breakout as the perfect opportunity to get even longer BTC," given the new highs being achieved and the indications of ongoing institutional backing provided by the LSE news.

A number of favorable indications for cryptoassets are strengthened by the popularity of Bitcoin ETFs. The most awaited milestone is perhaps the quadrennial "halving" that is set for April, which will see a halving of Bitcoin's supply growth.

Additional technical signs suggest that institutional and individual investors are becoming more interested. Since the beginning of the year, open interest on the Chicago-based CME Group's Bitcoin futures market has increased by 44%, and a recovery in the so-called funding rate indicates that traders are becoming more and more willing to pay a premium to initiate leveraged long positions in Bitcoin.

Since Bitcoin's breakout at 07:00 (UTC), "Perps (perpetual futures) have traded at premiums above $80; the premiums spiked towards $350 amidst BTC's initial breakout alongside growing open interest," according to Lunde.

The commercial software company MicroStrategy Inc., which has included acquiring Bitcoin into its business plan, revealed on Monday that it invested $822 million in buying additional tokens between February 26 and March 10.