Dado Rovik/Illustration/Reuters
Bitcoin is rising again
New York
CNN
—
Bitcoin is skyrocketing, surpassing $35,000 for the first time since May 2022. It is up 20% over the past five days.
Famous for volatility Cryptocurrency Its value has more than doubled this year as investors grow more excited about the prospect of being able to buy Bitcoin funds traded on good old-fashioned stock exchanges rather than having to deal with less regulated and sometimes sketchy crypto platforms (see: FTX, Binance et al).
The latest round of excitement came with the appearance of BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund on a listing controlled by Depository Trust and Clearing Corp, a clearinghouse for stocks and ETFs managed by Nasdaq, according to Reuters.
BlackRock applied in June to register a bitcoin ETF, which is awaiting approval. The company is the world’s largest ETF provider, managing trillions of dollars in assets. The BlackRock bitcoin ETF would give the cryptocurrency a new sense of legitimacy.
“This listing on the DTCC does not mean that the fund has already been launched or that this will inevitably happen,” said Samer Hassan, market analyst at online brokerage XS.com. “However, this may appear to be part of BlackRock’s preparations to launch an ETF soon.”
Other companies have also applied for approval to launch similar bitcoin ETFs, including Grayscale Investments.
Although the SEC ruled against Grayscale’s ETF, A.J A three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals In August, the regulatory body’s decision was overturned. The committee said the regulator failed to adequately explain why it rejected the company’s request.
This helped boost cryptocurrencies throughout the summer.
However, the SEC did not approve the fund, and investors may have started stepping out in front of their skis.
“I think these rapid rises in Bitcoin are somewhat exaggerated,” Hasen said. “Regulatory and legislative concerns still loom over this market, and I do not see opportunities soon to dispel these concerns as the legal battles continue.”
But there is another reason why Bitcoin is rising: fear. As investors look to diversify their portfolios in times of uncertainty, some are turning to Bitcoin, ironically as a kind of digital safe haven. Bitcoin, sometimes called “digital gold,” has become a way for investors to branch out beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
