The price of ether has jumped more than 16 per cent on speculation that US regulators will give the green light to stock market funds that invest in the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency.
The sharp rise, which began last night, caught many traders by surprise as most had expected the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay or reject the first ether exchange-traded fund by a Thursday deadline. Bitcoin also rose 6 per cent overnight to just over $71,000.
The renewed pressure on the SEC comes after the agency in January gave approval to exchange traded funds that invest bitcoin, giving way after years of delays. The spot bitcoin ETFs have drawn more than $10bn into funds run by assets managers such as Fidelity, BlackRock and Ark Investment Management, and helped fuel bitcoin’s rise to a record high of more than $73,000 in March.