Bitcoin price soars above $45,000 for first time since April 2022
Cryptocurrency market: Bitcoin price rose 3% to break above $45,000 on Tuesday for the first time since April 2022 as the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency started 2024 with a bang. Bitcoin rose to touch a 21-month high of $45,386 earlier in the day and was last up 2% at $44,980. Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, was 1% higher at $2,376.
A much-anticipated US approval of wider bitcoin trading has helped the world's biggest cryptocurrency reach 20-month heights, risking however pain for new investors unaccustomed to its volatility.
Bitcoin this week had reached above $44,000 for the first time since April last year, yet still remains far from a record-peak of almost $69,000 in 2021.
The recent surge in Bitcoin price has been driven by speculation around the creation of a so-called exchange-traded fund for the asset, which would directly track the price of bitcoin.
Spot bitcoin ETF would allow more of the general public to invest in the cryptocurrency without having to directly buy it.
"The introduction of bitcoin ETFs has the potential to improve market accessibility for institutional and non-professional investors, by providing (them) with a regulated path," Jeff Billingham, director of strategic initiatives at crypto group Chainalysis told AFP.
While bitcoin and rival digital tokens are attracting new younger investors, the Pew Research Center in March reported that overall, only 17 percent of US adults had invested in or used cryptocurrency.
This was largely unchanged compared with the previous two years.
When looking at young adults, they appear to hold a greater interest in cryptocurrency compared with traditional investors, according to French data.
A total 54 percent of new retail
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