Bitcoin Hits $45,000 as Investors Expect First ETF Approval

By Adedapo Adesanya

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has broken through $45,000 for the first time in nearly two years as the market prepares for a widely expected approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

The most valued cryptocurrency surged by more than 6 per cent to rise from the $43,000 mark it was trading on on January 1, as it rose 170 per cent over the value it was at the same period last year, per CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin is trading higher than any price reached in 2023 and marks a significant new yearly high for the asset just two days into 2024.

Bitcoin’s price performance comes as the market gears up for the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve one or several of the 14 outstanding applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF product, currently pending a decision with the regulator.

The last time Bitcoin traded above $45,000 was nearly 20 months ago on April 5, 2022, when the coin closed the day at $45,241 before descending into an enduring bear market that saw BTC fall as low as $15,600.

Market participants are buzzing with anticipation as major asset management firms scramble to secure regulatory approval for ETFs in the US.

Applicants, including Blackrock, Vaneck, Valkyrie, Bitwise, Invesco, Fidelity, Wisdomtree, and the Ark Invest/21shares joint venture all submitted revised filings with the US SEC on Friday.

The first deadline is January 10 for the proposed spot bitcoin ETF by Ark Invest/21shares and many people are expecting the securities regulator to approve multiple spot bitcoin ETFs by that date.

Other coins also appreciated including Ethereum (ETH) which rose by 3.6 per cent to $2,378.54, Solana (SOL) jumped by 7.5 per cent to $111.21, Cardano (ADA) gained 4.6 per cent to trade at $0.6284, and Dogecoin (DOGE) made 3.0 per cent jump to sell at $0.0928.