Bitcoin surged by more than 4.5% to above $70,000 on Monday, regaining lost ground after reaching an all-time high of $74,000 earlier this month.

Until Thursday of last week, Bitcoin traded below $65,000 following a multi-day period of unusually small inflows to Bitcoin ETF products, coupled with monstrous outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). The asset’s price began to surge again on Friday following the Bitcoin Investor Day conference, when Robert Mitchnick – BlackRocks digital assets lead – labeled Bitcoin as a good portfolio diversifier. At the time, Mitchnick explained that the asset’s price movements have historically correlated with real interest rates and inflation expectations. “It’s the reason Bitcoin’s generally not appropriate in large concentration in a portfolio,” he said at the time. Mitchnick also said that Bitcoin is unique for its overwhelming demand among BlackRock’s clients, compared to other digital assets. “Eventually we expect there will be a convergence where the best of the old system and the new technology will become fused into a new infrastructure system in finance,” he added. As of Friday, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, held over 240,000 BTC, more than any other Bitcoin ETF besides GBTC. Bitcoin’s Monday surge coincided with over $200 million of crypto liquidations on the day – mostly impacting short traders.