Bitcoin hits two-month high amid ETF race

The cryptocurrency soared 14.4% over the past three days, briefly reaching an over two-month high before stabilising at $30,300

Bitcoin reached a two-month high this week as a series of applications for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the world’s biggest cryptocurrency raised some hope over increased institutional interest in the token.

The cryptocurrency soared 14.4% over the past three days, briefly reaching an over two-month high before stabilising at $30,300 by 03:32 GMT on Thursday. The world’s second biggest crypto Ethereum increased around 6% on Thursday, reaching a near two-month high.

The rally comes amid revived interest in the coin after BlackRock Inc, the world’s biggest asset manager, applied for an exchange-traded fund that will directly track Bitcoin. Thereafter, a slew of other institutional investors also applied for Bitcoin ETFs, including WisdomTree, Valkyrie, and Citadel.

Coinbase is set to act as custodian for the Blackrock ETF. Increased institutional buying was one of the biggest reasons for a 2021 crypto rally, which had pushed Bitcoin to record highs. However a number of high-profile bankruptcies, increasing interest rates, and regulatory pressure saw a bulk of institutional money withdrawn through 2022.

The ETF filings pushed up some expectations of renewed institutional interest in the crypto sector, as it struggles with a U.S. regulatory clampdown against its leading firms. The Securities and Exchange Commission launched lawsuits against top exchanges Binance and Coinbase, while also accusing of fraud and wash trading against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao.

The lawsuits had resulted in sharp declines in the crypto market, taking Bitcoin to three-month lows earlier in June. They also sparked a slew of withdrawals from centralized crypto exchanges in the U.S., after Binance cautioned that it was set to lose support from traditional banking partners.

In spite of recent advances, Bitcoin stayed well below the near $70,000 record highs logged in late-2021. Crypto trading volumes have also plunged in recent weeks, as sentiment was shaken by the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuits.