Bloomberg Analyst Calls Bitcoin's 350% Surge Following ETF Launch "Natural"

Bitcoin has risen about 350% since the ETF filings two years ago, as Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called attention to in a recent tweet.

The Bloomberg analyst was reacting to a crypto user who seemed to downplay Bitcoin’s rise since spot ETF filings were filed two years ago.

Balchunas explains what Bitcoin’s 350% rise meant in terms of annualized return. That is “93% annualized return, about 5x US stocks,” Balchunas explained. He pointed out one of the reasons why Bitcoin’s rise might have been downplayed: the fact that the gains might have come without a “god candle.”

A god candle implies a sudden, massive and powerful surge in an asset’s value over a short period. Bitcoin instead has steadily risen since a price of around $24,900 in September 2023, reaching an all-time high of $124,457 on Aug. 14, 2025.

According to Balchunas, Bitcoin’s steady rise remains natural, being a less volatile move that remains beneficial. “This is the natural way of things for a maturing asset, less volatile movement, and there are many benefits to that,” Balchunas said.

Bitcoin price

Bitcoin extended it’s losses in a volatile week for digital assets, with about $140 billion in market value erased and a large options expiry looming.

At press time, Bitcoin was down 1.76% in the last 24 hours to $111,024 and down 6% weekly.

The next test comes Friday, when more than $17 billion in notional open interest tied to Bitcoin and about $5.3 billion for Ethereum is due to expire, according to derivatives exchange Deribit.

Cryptocurrency traders saw $1.7 billion in liquidations on Monday, triggering a sharp sell-off. Bitcoin has been largely trading in a range of $110,100 and $120,000 since early July, with subdued volatility.

More recently, Bitcoin has had a more muted response to the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate cut last week. Anticipated this week is the personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge scheduled for release on Friday.