Bitcoin topped $47,000 for the first time since April 2022 on expectations that U.S. regulators will approve exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest directly in Bitcoin for the first time. BlackRock, Ark and several other potential Bitcoin ETF issuers submitted revised forms earlier on Monday. Analysts believe this is the final step in gaining approval since a Bitcoin ETF application was submitted more than a decade ago.
Bitcoin rose 6.2% to $47,007, its largest intraday gain since November 15. Spurred by market expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve an ETF, Bitcoin soared nearly 160% last year and is heading toward highs last seen before the cryptocurrency crash in the second half of 2022. Bitcoin hit an all-time high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021.
“Bitcoin’s strong move is almost certainly a reaction to the very likely approval of a spot ETF this week,” said Greg Moritz, co-founder and chief operating officer of cryptocurrency hedge fund AltTab Capital.
Companies such as Fidelity, Invesco, Galaxy Digital and WisdomTree also submitted modified S-1 applications to the SEC. Regulators have until January 10 to make a decision on at least one company’s application, and cryptocurrency industry insiders speculate that regulators will announce a series of decisions by this date.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler took to social media platform X on Monday to warn about the risks that often arise when investing in cryptocurrencies.
“Billions of dollars of long cryptocurrency positions were unwound after an analyst report last week said the SEC would reject ETF applications this week,” said Teong Hng, CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm Satori Research. “Today’s bullish reports, including estimates from the likes of Standard Chartered that $50 billion to $100 billion will flow into Bitcoin ETFs this year, provided fuel for the rally.”
Other smaller cryptocurrencies were also mostly higher. Ethereum rose about 3.8%, while Cardano, Solana’s SOL, and Polkadot saw gains ranging from 7% to 9%. Bitcoin accounts for a little more than half of the cryptocurrency’s $1.7 trillion market capitalization.
Shares of so-called cryptocurrency companies were mostly higher. Coinbase Global, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, rose about 2.3%, and Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms both rose more than 7%. Shares of MicroStrategy, a software developer viewed by many stock investors as a cryptocurrency alternative, fell about 1.2%.