Bitcoin rose to a three-month high on Monday, fueled by a recent surge in buying in exchange-traded funds and long positions, although immediate demand for the cryptocurrency still appeared weak.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 2.7% to $80,286.50 by 08:55 Saudi time, and had gained nearly 12% in April, benefiting from low-priced buying.
Some progress has also been made toward passing a major U.S. regulatory bill, although the bill – the CLARITY Act – is still far from becoming law.
Prices for a wider range of cryptocurrencies also rose on Monday. However, larger gains remained largely limited due to continued uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict and global interest rates.
Bitcoin is benefiting from ETF inflows, but immediate demand is slow.
Bitcoin's gains during April were driven primarily by strong capital inflows into major exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the United States.
Data from aggregation platform SoSoValue showed that net ETF inflows reached $1.97 billion in April, their highest level since October 2025 - when Bitcoin last hit a record high.
But the flows are still well below the average monthly levels seen in 2025. The ETF flows also coincided with a strong performance in the US stock markets during April.
However, spot demand in the United States remained weak. Bitcoin continued to trade at a discount on Coinbase—the largest US exchange—relative to the global spot price average.
This suggests that US retail demand for the cryptocurrency has remained weak, and may signal a possible reversal after its recent performance.
Strategy halts Bitcoin buying ahead of Q1 earnings
Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) – the world’s largest institutional holder of Bitcoin – has paused its weekly Bitcoin buying activity this week, Chairman Michael Saylor said in a statement.
This move comes ahead of Strategy's first-quarter earnings announcement, scheduled for Tuesday. The company is expected to report a first-quarter loss of $13.67 million on revenue of $120.75 million, according to Investing.com forecasts.
Strategy recorded a large and disproportionate loss in the fourth quarter due to losses in the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins bullish, following Bitcoin's lead
Prices of other cryptocurrencies rose in tandem with Bitcoin. Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, climbed 3.6% to $2,387.64.
XRP and BNB rose by more than 2% each, while Solana and Cardano added 2.3% and 1.9% respectively.
Among the meme coins, Dogecoin rose by 4.6%, while $TRUMP rose by 0.8%.
