
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A bitcoin is seen in an illustration image taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – rose above $45,000 on Tuesday for the primary time since April 2022 because the world’s greatest and best-known cryptocurrency began 2024 with a bang buoyed by optimism round attainable approval of exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds.
Bitcoin touched a 21-month peak of $45,488, having gained 154% final yr within the strongest efficiency since 2020. It was final up 2.6% at $45,344 however stays far off the report excessive of $69,000 it touched in November 2021.
Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain community, was 1% larger at $2,376 on Tuesday.
Investor focus has been squarely on whether or not the U.S. securities regulator will quickly approve a spot bitcoin ETF, which might throw open the bitcoin market to tens of millions extra buyers.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected a number of functions to launch spot bitcoin ETFs in recent times, arguing that the cryptocurrency market is susceptible to manipulation.
In current months, nevertheless, there have been growing indicators that regulators are ready to log out on not less than a number of the 13 proposed spot bitcoin ETFs, with expectations that the choice will seemingly are available in early January.
Rising bets that main central banks will lower rates of interest this yr has additionally been a boon for cryptocurrencies, serving to shake off the gloom that had settled over crypto markets following the collapse of FTX and different crypto-business failures in 2022.
“The crypto market is set to experience notable growth this year, with key influencing factors being the influx of investment funds from spot ETFs, Bitcoin halving, and a more accommodative monetary policy both in the United States and worldwide,” mentioned Jupiter Zheng, accomplice of liquid funds at HashKey Capital.