Tuesday saw Bitcoin surpass $45,000 for the first time since April 2022. BTC had a strong start to 2024 thanks to hopes for the introduction of exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds.

At $45,355, the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency in the world experienced a 4.3% increase, reaching its highest level since April 6, 2022. Other tokens saw gains as well; Ether, the second-largest, increased by 2.6%.

As a result of the change, Bitcoin is still 34% away from its peak of $69,000 in November 2021.

Anticipation On Bitcoin ETF Approval Fuels Rally

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s expected approval of numerous spot bitcoin ETF launches, as has been the case for some weeks, seems to be driving the price increase.

Crypto YouTuber Lark Davis stated, “rumors flying that the spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved this week. Get ready.”

On Friday, the SEC received updated filings from applicants, including the joint venture Ark Invest/21shares, Blackrock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Vaneck, Valkyrie, Invesco, and Wisdomtree.

The first deadline for Ark Invest/21shares’ planned spot bitcoin ETF is January 10. By then, a lot of people anticipate that the securities authority will have approved several spot bitcoin ETFs.

According to a Reuters report published over the weekend, the regulatory body might start informing ETF sponsors on Tuesday that their applications will be accepted.

BTCUSD trading at $45,275 on the weekly chart: TradingView.com

In recent years, the SEC has turned down numerous requests to introduce spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), claiming that the cryptocurrency market is susceptible to manipulation.

Investors FOMO As Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Looms

Ahead of the impending approval, investors have been “buying on January 1, first thing New Year’s morning,” according to Hayden Hughes, co-founder of social trading platform Alpha Impact. This has caused some traders in the US and Europe to be afraid of missing out.

BTCUSD 24-hour price action. Source: Coingecko

This year will see significant growth in the cryptocurrency market, according to Jupiter Zheng, partner of liquid funds at HashKey Capital. The main drivers of this growth will be the inflow of investment capital from spot ETFs, the BTC halving, and more accommodating monetary policies globally and in the US.

Meanwhile, options traders had been riding the spot ETF excitement and wagering on the king crypto reaching $50,000.

Given the general bullish mood and the impending halving—a procedure that reduces the amount of Bitcoin that miners receive as a block reward in half—a significant correction seems improbable, according to Cici Lu McCalman, founder of blockchain advisor Venn Link Partners.

“I think traders would need nerves of steel to short BTC,” she said.

If the trend continues in 2024, trader and analyst “Nebraskangooner” predicted a price of $48,000 for the next surge.

Featured image from Shutterstock

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