Bitcoin surged past the $45,000 mark driven by growing anticipation among investors for the possible approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The spike in price occurred amidst reports hinting that the SEC might inform the 14 spot Bitcoin ETF applicants of its decision prior to the January 10 deadline, intensifying investors’ hopes for the inaugural spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the US.
As of Tuesday morning in Asia, the primary cryptocurrency by market cap surged by 6.9% in the last 24 hours, reaching $45,371, according to CoinMarketCap figures. This marks the first time Bitcoin has surpassed the $45,000 threshold since April 2022.
Analysts attribute the current upswing to positive sentiment surrounding the potential ETF greenlights. Justin d’Anethan from Keyrock, a crypto market maker, linked the surge to news about major players like Blackrock and Fidelity, along with other spot Bitcoin ETF applicants revealing the brokers supporting their BTC operations.
Markus Thielen of Matrixport projected a potential climb to over $50,000 by the week’s end. He highlighted a lack of new Tether issuance, signaling limited fiat inflows into crypto. However, Thielen noted that the price surge indicates a scarcity of sellers in the market. He also mentioned that the high BTC funding rates suggest that the futures market is propelling the spot market upward.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US is viewed as a significant milestone for the crypto industry. Glassnode estimates a potential influx of over $70 billion in institutional capital into these new Bitcoin investment products, if they receive approval.
