Bitcoin hits a two-week high above $66,000 as ETF inflows streak reaches five days

Two forces converged to push Bitcoin to its highest level in two weeks. First, the semiconductor sector — which had been a headwind for risk assets — turned supportive again, lifting the broader tech-adjacent trade that Bitcoin often moves with. Second, and more concretely, Bitcoin ETFs recorded a fifth straight day of net inflows, the longest unbroken streak since April. That kind of sustained institutional buying tends to reduce the available supply on exchanges and provides a floor under prices. Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin on the day, rising 4.5% to $1,938.75. No single catalyst drove the gap, but Ethereum has historically caught a stronger bid when Bitcoin breaks to new short-term highs and traders rotate into larger-cap alternatives. XRP gained 4.1% to $1.13. Traders were watching a technical pattern — a price consolidation shaped like a triangle — that some read as a setup for a move toward $1.35. Whether that plays out depends on whether Bitcoin's momentum holds. One notable tension: the Fear & Greed index sits at 25, firmly in Fear territory. That reading reflects the broader mood of the past several weeks, not just today. It means the rally is happening against a backdrop of genuine caution — which some market observers read as a healthier setup than a rally driven by euphoria, though the index alone doesn't tell you which way prices go next.

• –UK Parliament has opened a formal inquiry into whether banks are unfairly restricting access to financial services for crypto businesses — a process that could lead to new rules on how lenders treat the sector.
• –XRP traders are watching a technical triangle pattern that, if it breaks upward, would point toward a target near $1.35; the asset is up 4% today but has not yet broken through.