Bitcoin touched a 21-month record high of $45,532, having gained 156% last year in its strongest yearly performance since 2020. It was last up 2.5% at $45,318 but remains far off the record high of $69,000 it touched in November 2021.
Investor focus has squarely been on whether the US securities regulator will soon approve a spot bitcoin ETF, which would throw open the bitcoin market to millions more investors and draw billions in investments,economictimes.indiatimes.com reported.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has turned down multiple applications to launch spot bitcoin ETFs in recent years, arguing that the cryptocurrency market is vulnerable to manipulation.
In recent months, however, there have been increasing signs that regulators are prepared to sign off on at least some of the 13 proposed spot bitcoin ETFs, with expectations that the decision will likely come in early January.