Bitcoin rose Thursday to as high as $37,960, its strongest level since May 2022, on hope that an exchange-traded fund investing directly in the cryptocurrency could be approved soon.
The largest crypto
BTCUSD,
+0.09%
climbed 6.5% over the past 24 hours to about $37,502, according to CoinDesk data.
It is now eyeing $39,860 as its next resistance level, from the technical perspective, according to James Harte, analyst at Tickmill Group.
Thursday marks the start of an eight-day window for the Securities and Exchange Commission to “theoretically issue approval orders” for the pending spot bitcoin ETF applications, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas. There are currently 12 bitcoin ETF applications pending with the SEC.
“Even if approvals don’t arrive this month, we still believe there’s a 90% chance of approval by Jan. 10,” the final deadline facing the application filed by ARK Invest and 21 Shares, they wrote in a note.
The SEC has repeatedly rejected spot bitcoin ETFs in the past, citing their vulnerability to market manipulation, but a recent court win by Grayscale Investments reignited hopes that such products may come to the market soon.
Read: Grayscale CEO: Bitcoin gains show a ‘flight to quality’ amid economic uncertainty
“Bullish sentiment looks likely to continue through year-end with any SEC approvals likely to drive a big wave of demand throughout the crypto sector, not just in BTC,” Harte wrote in emailed comments.
“Approval would mark a major move into the mainstream for BTC and is expected to tap in to a heavy stream of institutional demand,” Harte noted.
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