The rally in cryptocurrencies showed no signs of slowing on Tuesday, as Bitcoin surged to $81,500, marking its strongest performance since January. This dynamic momentum extended beyond major coins, with notable gains also recorded among tokenization projects focused on bringing traditional financial assets onto the blockchain.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs attract strong demand
One of the key drivers behind this latest surge has been the remarkable demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Paul Howard, an executive at Wincent, observed that more than $500 million poured into spot Bitcoin funds managed by industry giants like BlackRock and Fidelity on Monday alone. The data underscores ongoing institutional interest in the cryptocurrency space.
Howard highlighted that the prevailing optimism largely stems from heightened demand for ETFs, and barring any major shifts in geopolitical risks, this momentum is expected to continue.
Bitcoin notched a 2% gain over the past 24 hours, bringing its overall rise since early February’s lows to more than 35%. Other leading cryptocurrencies, including Ether, XRP, and Solana, also moved higher but fell short of Bitcoin’s record-breaking jump. According to data from CryptoAppsy, Bitcoin’s intraday peak was $81,500.
Tokenization sector rallies on company moves
Meanwhile, tokenization projects that aim to move traditional financial assets to blockchain saw renewed activity. Centrifuge’s native token CFG jumped 15% after the protocol announced a strategic partnership with Coinbase, which reportedly involved a direct investment from Coinbase. The collaboration will focus on bringing ETFs, loans, and structured products on-chain through joint initiatives.
Bullish, a leading crypto infrastructure company best known for its exchange platform, made headlines by acquiring transfer agent Equiniti for $4.2 billion. Following the deal, Bullish saw its shares rise by 12%. This acquisition marks a pivot toward becoming a major infrastructure provider in capital markets. Analyst Owen Lau emphasized that Bullish is looking to lead the trend in tokenization instead of simply operating as a standard exchange.
According to Lau, the acquisition boosts Bullish’s potential for regular revenue streams, but the timing of this growth is crucial.
Another significant development came from Galaxy Digital, which launched a tokenized cash management fund for institutional investors in partnership with State Street. Galaxy Digital shares responded positively, climbing 3.6% after the announcement.
Market overview and sector outlook
As interest in crypto intensified, the tokenization concept gained fresh importance. According to a projection by Ripple and Boston Consulting Group, the value of tokenized assets on blockchains, including stablecoins, could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Still, not all sector stocks shared in the latest rally. Shares of Circle and Coinbase, both linked to the USDC stablecoin, slipped 3% to 4%. This signals that competitive shifts between industry players remain part of the market landscape.
The upswing in digital assets also spilled over into broader equities markets. The Nasdaq 100, heavily weighted toward technology companies, climbed 1.2% to a fresh record. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 closed the session up 0.8%.
