Bitcoin Surpasses $45,000 Amidst ETF Approval Anticipation

At a time when the market is getting ready for the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is over $45,000 for the first time in nearly two years. This milestone comes as the market is getting ready for approval.

According to the data provided by CoinMarketCap, the price of bitcoin has swiftly increased from $42,000 on January 1 to more than 6% in the past twenty-four hours and 170% over the previous year. Just two days into the year 2024, Bitcoin hit a new yearly high and is currently trading at a price higher than any price reached in 2023.

Bitcoin is up 6% in the last 24 hours and 171% in the last year. Source: CoinMarketCap

As the market anticipates the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving one or several of the fourteen outstanding applications for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) product, currently awaiting a decision with the regulator, observers have been monitoring Bitcoin’s price performance.

The last time Bitcoin traded above $45,000 was on April 5, 2022, about twenty months ago. At that time, Bitcoin closed the day at $45,241 before falling into an ongoing bear market that saw Bitcoin dip as low as $15,600, according to statistics from TradingView.

Bitcoin is trading above $45,000 for the first time since April, 2022. Source: TradingView

Market commentators remain divided on the potential short-term impact of approving an exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Bitcoin’s price.

Analysts working at the cryptocurrency options trading site Greeks.live believe that the decreasing implied volatility on Bitcoin options will prevent Bitcoin from experiencing a strong surge on the day that approval is granted.

Traders on X are of a different opinion. Scott Melkor, who has 925,000 followers, stated that Bitcoin is currently building a “bull penant” after a month of consolidation at values around the $40,000 mark. Melkor made his statement in response to the price of Bitcoin.

According to Melkor’s forecast, Bitcoin might reach a price of $54,000 in the days that follow the possibility of clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the meantime, Gabor Gurbacs, an advisor at VanEck, believes that the early days of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be regarded as a “letdown” by the standards of the wider market. However, he nonetheless expects that the products will ultimately draw in trillions of dollars over the next several years.