RIYADH: Bitcoin hit $60,000 for the first time in six months on Friday, nearing its record high, with traders growing confident that US regulators would approve the launch of the first US exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on its futures contracts, Reuters reported.
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, rose 4.5 percent to its highest level since Apr. 17 and was at $59,125 at 1:44 p.m. Riyadh time.
It has risen by more than half in value since September 20 and is now close to its all-time high of $64,895.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow the US. bitcoin futures ETF to begin trading next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
The crypto market involves many tokens which may be unregistered securities and leaves prices open to manipulation and millions of investors vulnerable to risks, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has previously said.
Proposals by ProShares and Invesco are based on futures contracts and were filed under mutual fund rules that Gensler has said provide “significant investor protections”, a Bloomberg report revealed, citing people familiar with the matter.