Cryptocurrency Market News: Bitcoin Blows Past $72K, Ether Up On Dencun Upgrade Optimism

investopedia.com:

Bitcoin (BTC) soared past yet another price milestone, crossing $72,000 this morning on the back of the price momentum from last week where it made two all-time highs. Meanwhile, ether climbed steadily past $4,000 amid optimism around lower fees after the highly-anticipated Dencun upgrade for the Etherum network—which will help improve transaction processing speeds at scale—this Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two SEC commissioners explained their displeasure with how the crypto industry has been regulated in the U.S, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made it clear that there are no immediate plans to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the U.S. dollar.

The launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., as well as the upcoming halving event, have been credited for bitcoin's recent rally to multiple all-time highs. Though after each of the highs, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap fell significantly before clawing back some of those gains.

On Monday, bitcoin marched past $72,000 possibly amid optimism around the UK regulator's softening stance to allow cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs) in the country.

«The Financial Conduct Authority will not object to requests from Recognised Investment Exchanges (RIEs) to create a UK listed market segment for cryptoasset-backed Exchange Traded Notes (cETNs). These products would be available for professional investors, such as investment firms and credit institutions authorised or regulated to operate in financial markets only,» the London Stock Exchnage said in a statement.

Over the past couple of months, Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has become a major hub of bitcoin trading activity, as its bitcoin stash temporarily grew larger than