For the first time since April 2022, Bitcoin has surpassed the $47,000 mark. This surge comes as U.S. regulators appear ready to greenlight Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that directly invest in the digital asset.
BlackRock Inc., Ark, and several other potential ETF issuers submitted revised forms on Monday.
Analysts view this move as a final effort to introduce these investment products, more than ten years after the initial application was submitted – according to Bloomberg.
Bitcoin, the pioneer digital currency, experienced a significant intraday increase of 6.2%, reaching $47,007. This is the largest single-day gain since November 15. Bitcoin’s value soared nearly 160% last year, with expectations high that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would approve the ETF applications. The cryptocurrency is now approaching levels unseen since before the crypto market crash in the latter half of 2022. Bitcoin reached a record high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021.
Greg Moritz, co-founder and COO of crypto hedge fund Alt Tab Capital, attributed Bitcoin’s bullish trend to the high probability of spot ETF approval this week.
Other firms, including Fidelity, Invesco, Galaxy Digital, and WisdomTree, also submitted amended S-1 applications to the SEC. The regulator has until January 10 to act on at least one of these applications.
According to Bloomberg, Crypto insiders speculate that the SEC may use this deadline to announce multiple decisions simultaneously.
On Monday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued a warning on the social media platform X, cautioning about the risks often associated with crypto investments.
Teong Hng, CEO of crypto investment firm Satori Research, noted that billions of dollars in crypto long positions were liquidated last week following an analyst report suggesting the SEC would reject the applications this week.
However, bullish reports today, such as Standard Chartered Bank’s estimate of a $50 to $100 billion inflow into Bitcoin ETF this year, are fueling the rally.
