Bitcoin Hits 18-Month High

The price of Bitcoin raced above $40,000 this week, reaching its highest level in 18 months as investors anticipate a lower interest-rate environment and important unblocking of regulatory logjams that could make the crypto asset more accepted.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was up more than 5% over the past 24 hours, trading at $41,600.

On Friday, investors started returning to support the coin after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank’s policy was “well into restrictive territory.” Many investors took this to mean that interest rate hikes were over, even though Powell reiterated the Fed was prepared to raise rates again if required.

The latest surge shows how eager investors are to move on from crypto’s most damaging scandals, such as the collapse of FTX. Bitcoin is now up 150% for the year, though it is not close to its historical high of $69,000 in November 2021.

Investors are more excited than ever because they expect the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund, or spot ETF. The SEC must approve applications to this fund by January 10, 2024.

A spot Bitcoin ETF would allow traditional investors to have exposure to the digital asset without actually owning it. The market has long searched for a way to ride the digital asset’s volatility, but its unpredictable rallies have also made owning Bitcoin unappealing outside of the digital-asset community.