Topline
The price of Bitcoin breached $41,000 for the first time since April 2022 early on Monday, amid heightened speculation about the approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund that would indirectly open the cryptocurrency to traditional stock market investors.
The price of Bitcoin neared $42,000 on Monday morning.
Key Facts
The price of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency surged to $41,943 early on Monday—its highest level in 19 months.
In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin is up more than 6.1%, and the token’s value has jumped more than 150% since the start of the year.
Ethereum, the world’s second-biggest crypto asset, was also up more than 4.1% in the prior 24 hours, climbing past the $2,200 mark for the first time in more than a year and a half.
The surge comes amid the expectation that the Federal Reserve is done with rate hikes and a cut in interest rates is likely in the new year.
The rising valuation is also fueled by the expectation that U.S. regulators may soon approve a Bitcoin ETF after a preliminary listing by BlackRock’s iShares emerged in October.
News Peg
Monday morning’s surge is a significant milestone as it is the first time the price of Bitcoin has reached these levels since the collapse of TerraUSD and Luna coin last year—a marquee event in the so-called crypto winter of 2022. The algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and its companion token, Luna, collapsed in May last year, resulting in $40 billion being wiped from the cryptocurrency market. This was followed by the Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) becoming insolvent and crypto-lender Celsius going bankrupt.
What To Watch For
The approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund would allow more people to invest in Bitcoin without having to directly hold the volatile cryptocurrency. Directly investing in Bitcoin requires most users to go through crypto exchanges or set up a cryptocurrency wallet, so an ETF is likely to be simpler for most traditional investors. Aside from BlackRock, the likes of Fidelity, Ark Invest, Invesco and others have also filed applications for a Bitcoin ETF. Expectations for an imminent approval of these ETFs have been bolstered by a federal appeals court ruling against the SEC in August. The regulator had previously denied Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin trust mutual fund into an exchange-traded fund.
Further Reading
Bitcoin Passes $34,000—A Nearly 18-Month High Amid ETF Speculation (Forbes)
U.S. Court Paves Way For Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF—Sending Crypto Prices Surging (Forbes)