Bitcoin Briefly Tops $70,000 With GameStop Mania Spurring Crypto

(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin briefly rose above $70,000; Crypto investment products saw inflows for the fourth consecutive week, with the latest GameStop frenzy sparking memecoin speculation.

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Crypto asset inflows totaled $185 million in the week to May 31, according to CoinShares International Ltd. In May, investors sent $2 billion into digital asset investment products, including Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Bitcoin briefly rose above $70,000 early Monday for the first time in a week, while most other cryptocurrencies were mixed after the initial rise.

Investors said the earlier gains were likely a result of the spillover effect of gains in GameStop shares driven by the Reddit account behind the 2021 meme-stock craze.

A cryptocurrency on the Solana blockchain using GameStop’s name, logo and code jumped more than 120% on Monday, according to tracker CoinGecko, but the coin has no legitimate connection to the company. The move follows a surge in shares of GameStop Corp. after Keith Gill, who goes by Roaring Kitty on X, posted a screenshot on Reddit on Sunday revealing his large stake in GME shares. Little has changed for Dogwifhat, one of this year’s most popular memecoins.

“The massive GME derivative position announced by Roaring Kitty on Sunday night served to catalyze the rally in the crypto space, with a meaningful rally in Doge and BTC minutes after the Reddit post began circulating widely,” global head of management Spencer Hallarn said. Over-the-counter trading in digital asset company GSR.

Shiliang Tang, president of main trading firm Arbelos Markets, said that what drives the market is new fund inflows at the beginning of the new month.

But with the cryptocurrency outperforming under the GME sign, Tang said the weekend GME news remains the main contributor to market gains.

Ethereum saw a second week of inflows following the approval of exchange-traded funds in the US that invest directly in Ether, according to a report from Coinshares.

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