SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Bitcoin was perched at a

two-year peak on Tuesday, breaking above $68,600 and stalking

the all-time high as money keeps rushing into the largest

cryptocurrency by market value.

Bitcoin has gained 50% this year and most of the rise

has come in the last few weeks when inflows into U.S.-listed

bitcoin funds have surged.

On Tuesday, it was at $68,500 in Asian hours, having reached

a session high of $68,828, a whisker away from the all-time peak

of $68,999.99 it set in November 2021.

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in the

United States earlier this year. Their launch opened the way for

new large investors and has re-ignited enthusiasm and momentum

reminiscent of the run up to record levels in 2021.

"It's crypto mania 4.0, and I think if we continue to see

fairly low bond and rate volatility, it could keep going.

There's definitely something of an irrational behaviour creeping

into the market," said Kyle Rodda, senior markets analyst at

Capital.com.

Net flows into the 10 largest U.S. spot bitcoin funds

reached $2.17 billion in the week to March 1, with more than

half of that going into BlackRock's ( BLK ) iShares Bitcoin Trust

, according to LSEG data.

"The appetite to gain exposure to Bitcoin is reaching

insatiable levels," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

"While Bitcoin overbought in the short term, the move is far

from done, and dips will be well supported with a move towards

$80,000 not out of the question."

The rally has come in tandem with records tumbling on stock

indexes from Japan's Nikkei to the S&P 500 and

tech-heavy Nasdaq and with volatility gauges in equities

and foreign exchange turning lower.

Smaller rival ether has hitched a ride on speculation

that it too may soon have exchange-traded funds driving inflows

and is up over 50% for the year and was last at $3,649.

A regulatory filing on Monday showed that U.S. Securities

and Exchange Commission has further delayed its decision on an

application by asset manager BlackRock ( BLK ) for its spot

ethereum exchange-traded fund.

Elsewhere, the number of dollar-pegged stablecoins issued by

Tether has crossed $100 billion, the crypto company said on its

website on Monday. Tether issues a stablecoin which is designed

to maintain a constant value of $1.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore)