Bitcoin and gold were both top of mind at the February 2024 Investment U Conference in Ojai, Calif., at which I had the privilege of presenting. There was a rumor circulating that the bitcoin price rally was sparked by a large financial institution recommending a 2 percent to 3 percent weighting to some of its high-net-worth clients. It’s being reported that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are now offering the bitcoin ETFs to certain wealth management clients, joining Charles Schwab, Robinhood and others.

The price of bitcoin pumped more than 45 percent in January, with around half of those gains recorded in the final week, as demand for the long-awaited spot bitcoin ETFs hit a fever pitch. Combined daily trading volume for the 10 ETFs was a jaw-dropping $7.7 billion on Feb. 28 alone, fueled by institutional speculation and leveraged bets that pushed the price of the underlying asset to a near-record high.

Remarkably, as of Feb. 29, the combined value of the holdings