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Bitcoin extended a rally fuelled by expectations of fresh demand from exchange-traded funds, reaching the highest price since May last year.
The largest digital asset rose as much as 11.5% to top $35,000 before paring some of the gain to trade at $33,918 in London on Tuesday, taking its year-to-date rebound from 2022’s digital-asset rout to 105%.
The possible approval in coming weeks of the first US spot Bitcoin ETFs is stoking speculative ardor for the token. Asset managers BlackRock Inc and Fidelity Investments are among those in the race to offer such products.
Digital-asset bulls argue the ETFs would widen adoption of the cryptocurrency.
A US federal appeals court also formalised a victory for Grayscale Investments LLC in its bid to create a spot Bitcoin ETF over objections from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC has so far resisted allowing ETFs that invest directly in Bitcoin, citing risks such as fraud and manipulation in the underlying market. The court ruling and flurry of applications from investment heavyweights to start spot funds stoked speculation that the agency will relent.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas flagged on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the iShares Bitcoin Trust “has been listed on the DTCC” with the ticker IBTC.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, operates the iShares business. The DTCC is the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp, which undertakes clearing and settlement in US markets.
“This doesn’t mean it’s technically approved,” Balchunas said in an interview. “It’s not home free. But this is pretty much checking every box that you need to check before you launch an ETF. When we see a ticker added, those things are usually right before launch.”