Given how it has taken just two days to bounce back from a brief dip to $54,700, excitement is building that a new record price could be imminent for BTC.
Bitcoin hit $60,000 on some exchanges in the early hours of Friday — leaving the world’s biggest cryptocurrency less than $5,000 away from securing a new all-time high.
Prices accelerated sharply from $57,208 to $59,341 in the space of one hour as investors in Asia digested news that the U.S. might be on the brink of approving a Bitcoin ETF.
Given how it has taken just two days to bounce back from a brief dip to $54,700, excitement is building that a new record price could be imminent for BTC — but whether this milestone will be achieved over the weekend remains to be seen.
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Bullish Factors
Monday is shaping up to be an especially significant day for the crypto markets, as this is when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is due to decide whether to approve a futures-based Bitcoin ETF.
The regulatory body raised eyebrows on Thursday when it tweeted about the “potential risks and benefits” associated with investing in such a fund, regarded by some as a precursor to what the decision will be.
According to Bloomberg, unnamed sources says the SEC is not likely to block the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF — a “watershed moment” that would allow institutional investors to get indirect exposure to this digital asset.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is said to believe that ProShares’ proposal provides “significant investor protections” because of the mutual fund rules that it has been filed under.
Phoenix_Ash3s, who writes technical analysis for CoinMarketCap Academy, summed up his perspective on the current market in a tweet, writing:
This is why we will absolutely blast:— Phoenix (@Phoenix_Ash3s) October 15, 2021
Supply: super low 📉
Sentiment: good, but no euphoria 😶
Retail is not here yet👨👨👦👦
Smart investor: stacked 💯
Almost no media coverage📰
No FOMO yet🤷♂️
Price in a firm uptrend 📈
Highest price per $BTC in half a year📈
Fasten your seatbelts
The U.S. is lagging behind others in the race to launch crypto-related ETFs, as they have already been launched in Canada and Europe.
A decision by the SEC on physically backed Bitcoin ETFs isn’t expected until later this year — and even then, further delays are possible.
Bitcoin’s dominance is continuing to increase, with the latest CoinMarketCap data indicating that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency now has a 46% share of the $2.4 trillion market.
But while BTC is just $5,000 away from entering into uncharted territory — an 8.75% rise from current levels — other major coins have an even steeper hill to climb.
Ether, which isn’t performing as strongly as Bitcoin on a seven-day timeframe, is currently 14% away from the record high of $4,362.35 set in May 2021.
