- Bitcoin stood at $70,458.81 on Tuesday after rising 5.5% in the previous 24 hours.
- The world’s largest virtual currency is up more than half since January
The world’s largest cryptocurrencies have soared this week as markets anticipate US regulators to approve the launch of new investment vehicles.
Bitcoin stood at $71,195.82 as of mid-afternoon Tuesday after rising 6.4 percent in the previous 24 hours, the first time it surpassed $70,000 since mid-April.
The world’s largest virtual currency by market capitalization has risen by more than half since January, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission authorized the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
For use: Ether is a cryptocurrency used on Ethereum, a decentralized blockchain platform widely used to create new cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin prices have also benefited from investors anticipating interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and a recent surge in investment in spot bitcoin ETFs.
About $1.2 billion has flowed into these funds since May 13, according to data from London-based Farside Investors.
Victoria Scholar, chief investment officer at Interactive Investor, said that if bitcoin again surpasses the record high of $73,800 it hit in April, it could spur “further buying and take the cryptocurrency to new all-time highs.”
Meanwhile, Ether has soared 23.6 percent to $3,810.83 in the past 24 hours, meaning its value has more than doubled over the past year.
The SEC will decide on Thursday and Friday, respectively, whether to accept or reject spot ether ETF applications from US investment firms VanEck and Ark Invest.
Two Bloomberg ETF analysts, Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, have increased their odds that the regulator will authorize the funds from just 25 percent to 75 percent.
Hong Kong’s securities regulator approved the first bitcoin and ethereum spot ETFs in April.
Ether is a cryptocurrency used on Ethereum, a decentralized blockchain platform widely used to create new cryptocurrencies.
Spot ether ETFs would allow investors to put their money behind the coin without directly owing ether.
However, regulators have been reluctant to sanction such an ETF because ether is “at stake.” This involves someone pledging the currency as collateral to support transactions on the Ethereum network and earning rewards as a result.
The SEC began clamping down on this practice last year, fining cryptocurrency exchanges like Kraken $30 million for offering unregistered staking securities as a service.
In March, it won a significant victory when a judge said a jury trial could hear the SEC’s claim that Coinbase had engaged in unregistered securities sales.