BTC tops $47k as CNBC predicts Wednesday Bitcoin ETF approval

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed $47,100 on Jan. 8 amidst expectations of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals over the coming days.

Bitcoin was priced at $47,162 at 7:15 p.m. UTC. At the time, its market cap is roughly $918 billion.

The latest high represents daily gains for Bitcoin and other top-ten crypto assets. Bitcoin (BTC) is up 6.2% over 24 hours, while Ethereum (ETH) is up 4.8% over the same period. Additionally, Cardano (ADA) is up 4.6%, Avalanche (AVAX) is up 2.6%, Solana (SOL) is up 3.8%, and XRP is up 2.0%. The entire cryptocurrency market is up 4.0% over a 24-hour period.

Bitcoin’s current value represents a 21-month high not seen since April 2022. In May 2022, shortly after that previous high, an extended market crash occurred following collapse of TerraUSD and various crypto lending services. The market’s long-term price recovery began in January 2024 and has continued until today.

Possible ETF approval may be linked to gains

Though numerous factors affect Bitcoin’s price, optimism around the likely approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) may be one factor.

CNBC, notably, reported at 3:54 p.m UTC that multiple ETFs are expected to be approved in the coming days based on two sources close to the matter. The news outlet said that the funds will likely be approved on Wednesday, Jan. 10 and that trading will likely begin on Thursday, Jan. 11, or Friday, Jan. 12.

Other positive news around ETFs has also emerged. Standard Chartered predicted that Bitcoin ETFs could bring $50 billion to $100 billion of inflows into the crypto market throughout 2024. VanEck bought $72.5 million of Bitcoin to seed its ETF, while Grayscale and other companies entered a ‘fee war’ to offer competitive rates.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler warned about Bitcoin investments, implicitly hinting about new crypto products despite his negative tone.

Previous weeks have seen the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) meet with asset managers and accept amendments from those applicants, which are important steps toward product approvals.

Any of those events and countless others may have affected investor sentiment, driving up demand for Bitcoin and, in turn, its market value.