Bitcoin It moved higher on Tuesday, climbing to $81,500, its highest level since January, as the latest leg of gains expanded beyond major coins into tokenization-focused areas.
The largest cryptocurrency has gained another 2% in the past 24 hours and is now up more than 35% from its early February lows. Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) were also higher, although they lagged behind Bitcoin’s pace.
Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent, said strong demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs is driving the momentum. He said that during Monday’s trading session, more than $500 million had flowed into spot BTC funds led by BlackRock and Fidelity products, reflecting the continued interest of large investors.
He said positive sentiment is likely to remain constructive unless geopolitical conditions deteriorate significantly.
Tokenization topic gains traction
The move coincides with new momentum in tokenization — efforts to bring traditional financial assets on-chain.
On the equity front, Bullish (BLSH) soared 12% after announcing a $4.2 billion acquisition of transfer agent Equiniti, a move that will move the company deeper into capital markets infrastructure. Bullish is the owner of CoinDesk.
Clear Street analyst Owen Lau said the deal marks a shift beyond transactions.
“Strategically, we see this acquisition as a huge driver for Bullish’s transformation from a cryptocurrency exchange to a capital markets infrastructure provider that captures the tokenization trend,” Lau said. The move could lead to more recurring revenue and higher profit margins over time, and the key question is timing rather than feasibility, he added.
Galaxy Digital (GLXY), which just launched a tokenized cash management fund for large investors in partnership with State Street, rose 3.6%. Other stocks related to digital asset infrastructure also moved higher.
Among tokens, Centrifuge’s native cryptocurrency (CFG), a protocol for tokenizing real-world assets, is up 15% after Coinbase (COIN) selected the protocol as a partner to help bring ETFs, credit and structured products into the blockchain orbit, signaling growing institutional interest in the space. Coinbase also holds an equity stake in Centrifuge.
Tokenization is attractive to investors because it is one of the fastest-growing areas at the intersection of blockchain technology and traditional finance. According to Ripple and BCG, the market for tokenized assets, including stablecoins, is expected to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Not all cryptocurrency stocks participated in the rally. Circle (CRCL) and Coinbase (COIN) fell 3-4% each, giving back some of Monday’s gains and suggesting some rotation within the industry.
Meanwhile, broader stock markets were also higher: the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2% to hit a new record, and the S&P 500 gained 0.8%.