Bitcoin touched US$65,000 for the first time in about three weeks, aided by reviving demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) amid signs that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is set to loosen monetary policy.

The largest digital asset rose 1.2% to US$65,030 on Monday before dipping back to US$64,000 as of 1.35pm in Singapore. The cryptocurrency advanced 7.4% last week, the sharpest increase for such a period since mid-July.

Fed chair Jerome Powell last Friday gave the clearest indication yet that the central bank is on course to cut benchmark rates from a more than two-decade high, portending a more favourable liquidity backdrop for global markets. 

Powell’s signal spurred a US$252 million net inflow - the highest in more than a month - into a group of one dozen US spot-bitcoin ETFs the same day, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. The funds have attracted inflows for seven straight days.

“All eyes are on the Fed,” said Cici Lu McCalman, the founder of blockchain adviser Venn Link Partners, adding that a September rate cut may boost bitcoin.

Unlike the bitcoin portfolios, a group of US spot-ether ETFs suffered a net outflow last Friday. Ether was on the back foot on Monday, dropping as much as 1.7%. Other major tokens were little changed. 

Toncoin, a token from a blockchain linked to messaging app Telegram, nursed losses after the latter’s co-founder Pavel Durov was detained in France. 

  - Bloomberg