Bitcoin touches $47,000 for the first time since April 2022 as investors brace for landmark ETF decision

KEY POINTS.

Bitcoin rose to a 21-month high above $47,000 to start the week.

 Key fee disclosures submitted by potential bitcoin ETF issuers bolstered investors’ confidence that an approval is more likely than not.

The SEC is approaching its first deadline to approve or reject one of the ETF applications — that of Ark 21Shares on Wednesday.

 Bitcoin rose to a 21-month high to start the week as investors awaited the potential approval of a U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded fund this week.

On Monday, the cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 6% to $46,924.38, according to Coin Metrics, as BlackRock,  Grayscale and other potential bitcoin ETF issuers submitted final updates to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including key fee disclosures that bolstered investors’ confidence that an approval is more likely than not.

Earlier, it rose as high as $47,238.92. The last time it traded over $47,000 was April 2022.

“It’s a price war,” said Jim Angel, an associate professor specializing in financial market structure at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. “Multiple vendors are coming out of the gate with a nearly identical commoditized product and the only way they can compete is on price.”

The SEC is approaching its first deadline to approve or reject one of the ETF applications — that of Ark 21Shares on Wednesday. It is widely expected the agency will approve several applications at once to even the playing field.

“Approval is inevitable,” former SEC chair Jay Clayton told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday when asked what could happen this week. “There’s nothing left to decide. … This is a big step not just for bitcoin, but for finance generally.”

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