ALBAWABA – Bitcoin broke over the $43,000 barrier on Tuesday after reports came out that BlackRock had updated their proposed filing for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission to allow cash redemptions.
Allowing cash redemption could significantly help the company secure an approval from the commission, according to Reuters.
Several proposals for spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, including filings from traditional finance heavyweights, have revived the crypto market this year after a series of meltdowns in 2022.
A recent rally drove Bitcoin beyond the $40,000 threshold earlier this month, close to $45,000.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Bitcoin had broken over $43,000 earlier on Tuesday, up 1.1 percent, at $43,094.81.
By 1626 Amman Time, Bitcoin was trading at $42,948, according to Google Finance, just below the five-day high reached earlier in the day, at $43,202.1.
The SEC has so far denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications, citing potential for fraud. But market participants have been hopeful of an approval early next year.
Bitcoin value has also been driven by the supply crunch expected next year because of an event called "halving" - Shutterstock
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, had earlier sought to only redeem baskets to investors in bitcoin or 'in-kind', Reuters reported.
A spot crypto ETF would track the market price of the underlying crypto asset, giving investors exposure to the token without buying the currency.
Bitcoin had hit $69,000 back in 2020, according to AFP.
Notably, the commission’s anticipated approval will allow the creation ETFs for Bitcoins, thus allowing broader trading of the cryptocurrency, which could see another rally lifting the cryptocurrency to or beyond previous highs.
The digital asset's value has also been driven by the supply crunch expected next year because of an event called "halving".
Bitcoins are created – or "mined" – as a reward when powerful computers solve complex problems, as explained by AFP. But the amount of bitcoin is limited and every four years, the reward is halved. The next "halving" is due in May 2024.
