The world’s oldest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, surpassed the $60,000 mark on Friday for the first time in almost six months, following rumors that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the end of October.
According to Coingecko, a digital currency pricing and information data portal, the digital asset surpassed the $60,019 milestone after rising over 3% on Friday morning.
Bitcoin was only 8% away from its all-time high of $64,805, which it reached on April 14, 2021.
Other cryptocurrencies, including ether, Cardano, Solana, and Matic, rose by up to 11%.
“At the moment, there are five ETF applications awaiting approval, and all of these applications are expected to be decided in October.” According to a recent Bloomberg article, the SEC is expected to approve an ETF in the next two weeks,” said Hitesh Malviya, creator of blockchain and cryptocurrency website itsblockchain.com.
While bitcoin-based ETFs have been accessible in other countries, such as Canada, analysts believe that allowing this long-awaited instrument in the United States will grow the crypto market significantly.
“This is extremely excellent news because it will allow Wall Street to begin putting in the capital on a greater and more controlled basis.” If the ETF is authorized, I predict the market will expand by $2 trillion dollars in the following quarter,” said Sidharth Sogani, founder and CEO of CREBACO Global, a blockchain and cryptocurrency research, grading, and intelligence firm.
Bitcoin alone has a market valuation of $1.13 trillion, bringing the entire market capitalization of cryptocurrencies to about $2.55 trillion.
The crypto market has been slowly recovering ground after months of underperformance, thanks to a favorable regulatory outlook and increased adoption by major corporations.
The US Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, declared at the end of last month that the Fed has no plans to prohibit cryptocurrencies, while Twitter announced the debut of crypto tipping for all users.
Bitcoin, according to experts, is presently approaching its prior all-time high.
“Once bitcoin breaks out over $65,000, we may expect a parabolic surge above $150,000, with a greater odds in favour this time due to overall mood around an ETF approval, which has been in the works since 2017,” said Malviya.
Sogani believes bitcoin will reach $80,000 by the end of the year.
