Bitcoin rose past $42,000 (£33,100) for the first time since April last year as investors increasingly hope that the US will soon allow broader trading of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. The digital asset has skyrocketed this year, gaining more than 150pc, with expectations growing that US regulators will allow the creation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These would track the price of bitcoin and allow the public to invest in the currency without directly purchasing it. Lucy Guzmararian, founder of Token Bay Capital, told Bloomberg: “This idea that institutional money in US capital markets is going to have a legitimate, compliant avenue… the expectations are extremely high that that’s really going to take bitcoin to new levels.” The currency remains well below its record value of almost $69,000 in 2020, but the rally marks a recovery following the high-profile scandals and collapses that rocked the crypto industry. FTX, the world’s second-biggest crypto exchange, dramatically went under last year, and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 110 years in prison for what prosecutors described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”. It comes as the value of gold hit a new record as markets increasingly bet that interest rates will be cut early next year, rising above $2,111 an ounce during Asian trading hours. Read the latest updates below.
Bitcoin breaks $42,000 amid hopes for wider trading – latest updates
