The cryptocurrency market continues to show strength as speculation mounts over the potential approval of 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Institutional investors appear to be aggressively accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) ahead of the expected decision date on January 10, 2024.
Market observers have noted a widening price gap between BTC on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, signaling strong buying interest from US investors. Analysts at on-chain data provider CryptoQuant highlighted that this gap has increased from a few dollars to over $50, indicative of the robust purchasing activity in the US.
Amidst growing excitement for the US’s first spot Bitcoin ETF, MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin investor, continues to amass BTC. The company recently purchased $615 million worth of Bitcoin, holding approximately $6 billion in BTC, totaling 189,150 units.
According to CoinMarketCap, BTC has seen a 1.57% increase in the last 24 hours, trading at $43,847. The data reflects a 2.98% rise over the past week and a 5.35% increase over the last 30 days.
Following a speculative report by crypto firm Matrixport on January 3, Bitcoin dropped to $40,800, resulting in the liquidation of leveraged positions worth tens of millions of dollars. Matrixport analysts suggested that the SEC would not approve the spot Bitcoin ETF and that final approval might come in the second quarter of the year.