Bitcoin Hits 18-Month High: Breaks $37,000 Level!

• For the first time in 18 months, Bitcoin has surpassed $37,000, a level it last reached before the collapse that followed the explosion of kTerra.
• A series of major Wall Street firms have submitted applications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch their investment vehicles.
• At the beginning of this year, when BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, filed its own application for a Bitcoin ETF, momentum began to build for a Bitcoin ETF.

Rumors of approval for spot Bitcoin ETFs have sparked a surge in the price of Bitcoin. Today, the price of BTC managed to settle above $37,000.

Bitcoin Trading Above $37,000

For the first time in 18 months, Bitcoin has surpassed $37,000, a level it last reached before the collapse that followed the explosion of kTerra. As of the time of writing, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at $37,880 according to data. This represents a 6% increase in the last 24 hours. The asset has also gained over 35% in the past 30 days.

Bitcoin was last at this level 18 months ago before it crashed following the explosion of Terra, a significant project in the space. In the wake of that event, a number of prominent crypto companies and projects went bankrupt, including the popular exchange FTX.

At the start of the year, Bitcoin was trading below $17,000. It has now surged by over 124%. However, this is still well below the all-time high of $69,044, which was reached in November 2021. The reason for the price increase could be optimism surrounding approval for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A series of major Wall Street firms have submitted applications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch their investment vehicles, which, if approved, would allow investors to track the price through shares that provide exposure to the largest cryptocurrency.

At the beginning of this year, momentum began to build for a Bitcoin ETF when BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, filed its own application. A recent report from JP Morgan analysts predicted that a spot Bitcoin ETF might be “likely” to be approved shortly after January 2024.

This could be the first approval for a Bitcoin ETF by the SEC after rejecting Bitcoin ETF applications for a decade. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas said that the window for approving 12 Bitcoin ETFs opened today.

Altcoins Gain Momentum

Other major coins and tokens also saw increases today. Solana, which has gained significant momentum recently, increased by over 10%, reaching a price of $47.68. Chainlink, ranked 12th by market capitalization, also saw a significant increase, over 11%. At the time of writing, it was trading at $15.51. The total cryptocurrency market cap has risen by 3.5% today, surpassing $1.44 trillion. Ethereum is currently trading at $1,983.