Bitcoin rose to $45,532 for the first time since April 2022. It gained 156% last year, its strongest annual performance since 2020. However, it is still far from the all-time high of $69,000 it was at in November 2021.
It is curious that the price of Bitcoin did not freeze at $45 thousand, but continued to grow at a fairly confident pace. At the time of writing, the price of one bitcoin was $45,852. As has been the case in the past few weeks, the catalyst for the rise was the expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the launch of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to Reuters, this week the regulator will begin notifying ETF investors that their applications have received SEC approval.
In recent years, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected several applications to launch them, arguing that the cryptocurrency market is vulnerable to manipulation. However, in recent months there have been growing signs that regulators are poised to approve at least some of the proposed spot Bitcoin ETFs. A decision is expected to be made in early January.
