Bitcoin surged over 10% on Monday, briefly surpassing $ 34,500, on continued optimism that an exchange-traded fund investing directly in the cryptocurrency will soon be approved in the U.S.
The largest cryptocurrency BTCUSD, +6.96% by market cap on Monday reached as high as $ 34,616, the loftiest level since May 2022, according to CoinDesk data, before falling to around $ 33,021 by Monday evening. Other major cryptocurrencies also rose, with ether up 5.8% over the past 24 hours to $ 1,763.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has repeatedly rejected bitcoin ETF applications in the past, citing risks of market manipulation. But crypto-industry participants are expecting that to change soon.
Read more: Bitcoin climbs above $ 30,000 for first time since August as hopes for ETF approval intensify
A U.S. Appeals court on Monday issued a mandate, putting into effect its ruling in August, which overturned the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale Investments’ application to convert its Bitcoin Trust product GBTC into an ETF. The final ruling on Monday confirmed Grayscale’s win in court.
Meanwhile, BlackRock’s proposed bitcoin ETF has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. While it doesn’t mean that the ETF is guaranteed to be approved, it shows another step closer for BlackRock to bring the fund to the market.
If bitcoin ETFs are approved, the crypto may see “historical price increases,” with a crypto bull market coming, according to Alex Adelman, chief executive and co-founder of Lolli. “Bitcoin ETFs will give institutional and retail investors new ways to gain exposure to bitcoin within established regulations,” Adelman said.