Bitcoin reached new heights on Monday, propelling to yet another record as the cryptocurrency's meteoric rise continued. The world's largest digital asset climbed over 3% to surpass $72,000, setting a fresh all-time high of $72,750.16 before paring some gains. This extension of Bitcoin's recent rally follows a volatile week where prices swung wildly, briefly eclipsing prior records last reached in 2021 before settling over the weekend.

The principal driver behind Bitcoin's ascent has been the consistent inflows into U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. Last week alone, crypto investment products absorbed a record $2.7 billion, per data from CoinShares. This took the year-to-date total for such inflows to over $10 billion, nearly matching the unprecedented $10.6 billion for all of 2021. Concurrently, heightened leverage across crypto markets catalyzed the biggest price fluctuations in nearly a year.

Riding Bitcoin's coattails, ether surpassed the $4,000 threshold for the first time since December 2021, rallying 3% to trade above $4,034. Ethereum's impending "Dencun" upgrade buoyed investor interest, contrasting prior instances where the cryptocurrency peaked ahead of such events before sellers capitalized. However, analysts suggest Dencun's impact could differ given forceful tailwinds like the bitcoin ETF launches and prospects for a spot ether ETF approval.

Companies tied to bitcoin's performance exhibited a mixed response. While Coinbase closed flat after surrendering early gains, MicroStrategy jumped 4% after purchasing over 12,000 more bitcoins for $821 million. Conversely, crypto miners including Marathon Digital, CleanSpark and Riot Blockchain declined sharply, continuing March's sell-off as the upcoming Bitcoin "halving" looms.

In a pivotal regulatory move, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority greenlighted crypto-backed exchange-traded notes (ETNs) on regulated exchanges. This follows the landmark US launch of spot bitcoin ETFs two months prior and is expected to stoke institutional investment into Bitcoin and other digital assets.