Bitcoin broke through $68,000 early this morning, and Rachael Lucas, a cryptocurrency analyst at BTC Markets, said "one of the main drivers of the rally has been the significant inflows into bitcoin ETFs." US bitcoin spot ETFs recorded their 11th consecutive day of net inflows on Friday, according to SoSoValue, with BlackRock's IBIT accumulating net inflows of nearly $19 billion since its inception. At the same time, Bitcoin's gains also appear to have been influenced by U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement that he will not run in the upcoming November presidential election, which could increase the chances of a victory for Trump, the pro-cryptocurrency Republican nominee. While Biden is backing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic nominee, Harris has yet to express his views for or against the cryptocurrency industry. Rachael Lucas said market movements could still be affected by Mt. Gox's outstanding payments, and the market could still face short-term variables as most of the expected creditor repayments, totaling $9 billion, are expected to be processed in early August.