Bitcoin wins boost on hope of broader trading
Bitcoin's price has risen strongly in recent weeks with the United States possibly set to allow a popular type of trading in the cryptocurrency that would further normalise the asset.
A 30-percent jump since the end of August has been driven by speculation around the creation of a so-called exchange-traded fund for the asset, which would directly track the price of bitcoin.
Spot bitcoin ETF would allow more of the general public to invest in the cryptocurrency without having to directly buy it.
«Approval is now (a matter of) when, not if,» Charles Morris, founder of crypto analyst group ByteTree, told AFP.
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View Details»With a market capitalisation of about $670 billion, bitcoin is the world's biggest cryptocurrency and has doubled in value since the start of the year.
Bitcoin's price briefly surpassed $35,000 last week — helped also by some investors viewing the asset as a haven amid economic and geopolitical unrest.
But it remains around half its record value of almost $69,000 that was reached in late 2020.
«The rebound we are seeing… seems linked to a single catalyst: the enthusiasm generated by a possible approval» of Spot bitcoin ETF, said Clara Medalie of cryptocurrency data analysts Kaiko.
Blackrock chief executive Larry Fink recently argued that part of the rally could be attributed to «way beyond the rumour».
He said it was also «about a flight to quality, with all the issues around the Israeli war
