Bitcoin rockets past $60,000, more than double its June price on growing U.S. ETF hopes
Daniel Levi
Posted On October 15, 2021
On June 22, bitcoin crashed below $30,000, a level we haven’t seen since January 2021. The crash led to nearly $800 million worth of liquidated positions across the major exchanges as the world’s most popular cryptocurrency was trading at $29,482.10.
Fast forward four months later, Bitcoin is back from the abyss more than double its June price as traders grew confident that U.S. regulators would approve the launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on its futures contracts.
On Friday, bitcoin hit $60,000 for the first time in six months, a record not seen since April 12. As of the time of writing, one bitcoin is now trading at $60,069.60. However, if history is a guide, no one knows if bitcoin can sustain the current momentum. For example, on April 12, bitcoin crashed by 40% from its peak of $64,829.14 in mid-April as $300 billion wiped off the crypto market.
Some investors think this time is different as they wait for approval of the first U.S. ETF for bitcoin, whose recent rally has been fuelled in part by anticipation of such a move, which is seen as speeding up the mainstream adoption of digital assets, Reuters reported.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow the first U.S. bitcoin futures ETF to begin trading next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
“It is widely expected that Q4 will see significant progress around a bitcoin ETF in the U.S.,” Ben Caselin, head of research and strategy at Asia-based cryptocurrency exchange AAX, said.
Friday’s moves were spurred, he said, by a tweet from the SEC’s investor education office that stated: “Before investing in a fund that holds Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits.”
Meanwhile, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, is not so far behind. Ethereum is now priced at $3,799.04. The crypto market cap is now a record $2.02 trillion and bitcoin has now surged past the $1 trillion milestone.
