Bitcoin breached the US$60,000 (RM249,485) mark for the first time since April on growing optimism that American regulators will greenlight the first US futures exchange-traded fund for the cryptocurrency.
The digital currency was up more than 40 per cent from a month ago, reaching US$62,253 (RM258,839) at 2050 GMT, according to Bloomberg News data, which reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission could allow the ETF to trade next week.
The SEC has rejected attempts to create a Bitcoin ETF since 2013.
“An SEC Bitcoin ETF approval is a watershed moment for the crypto industry as this could be the key driver for getting the next wave of crypto investors,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
China, meanwhile, has cracked down on trading and mining cryptocurrencies, which are created through solving complex equations — an endeavour that consumes enormous amounts of energy.
The proposals were filed under mutual fund rules that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said provide “significant investor protections”, the news agency reported.
“This is a key development for the crypto space as it would allow many investors who were on the fence to enter the market in more traditional ways,” said Walid Koudmani, analyst at XTB online trading.
An ETF would reassure investors “about previously associated risks such as lack of regulations and the possibility of having their wallet hacked”, Koudmani said.
There are ETFs that include Bitcoin in other countries but getting one in the United States would take the cryptocurrency to another level.
“In America’s case, it’s the largest, most important market. To date, they (traditional investors) haven’t had a simple vehicle in which to invest in Bitcoin,” Charlie Erith, CEO of ByteTree Asset Management, which specialises in cryptocurrencies, told AFP
Erith cautioned that “the impact on the market might be overblown. You might see a short selloff but it won’t be meaningful”.
But, he added, “long term, it’s an important development. It signals that authorities are getting more comfortable with people owning cryptoassets”. — AFP
