(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin climbed beyond $28,000 for the first time this month on the tailwind from BlackRock Inc.'s application to start a US exchange-traded fund.
The largest digital asset at one point added 5.3% to hit a more than two-week high of $28,142 during New York trading. Smaller coins such as Ether and BNB posted relatively small gyrations.
BlackRock filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 15. The SEC has resisted allowing such spot funds but the latest attempt carries the heft of the world's largest asset manager.
"The BlackRock ETF application seemed to have ignited the rally, but there's clearly more behind it," said Aaron Brown, a crypto investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion.
Read more: BlackRock Tries for Spot-Bitcoin ETF With Fresh Filing
Meanwhile, a new crypto exchange backed by firms including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets and Charles Schwab Corp. said it's gone live, a move that could reshape the digital-asset landscape amid heightened US scrutiny of the sector. Deutsche Bank AG also said it has applied for regulatory permission to operate a custody service for digital assets such as crypto currencies
"Traditional incumbents are now seeing an opportunity to grab market share with the Citadel/Fidelity launch of EDX today and Deutsche Bank applying for a digital asset custody license in Germany," said Kyle Doane, a trader at Arca.
Bitcoin has climbed about 9% since BlackRock's move, helping to lift the token past a zone of resistance around $27,000 based on key chart patterns.
The application landed amid Grayscale Investments LLC's legal battle with the SEC to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a physically backed ETF. The trust's discount to net asset value has narrowed on speculation that BlackRock's step could end up bolstering Grayscale's case.
Markets are also being shaped by the US crackdown on crypto and macro forces, including the outlook for further US monetary tightening after the Federal Reserve paused interest-rate hikes this month.
Traders are waiting for more clarity too on the scale of expected economic stimulus in China, where the central bank recently cut borrowing costs.
The potential China stimulus impact on Bitcoin isn't "getting enough airplay," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia Pty.
--With assistance from Suvashree Ghosh.
Most Read from Bloomberg
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.