Bitcoin climbs above $45,000 for 1st time since ETF approval

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Bitcoin saw its price climb above $45,000 on Thursday for the first time since the approval of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in mid-January.

The price of Bitcoin rose to as high as $45,614 during the day, while it was trading near $45,480 at 3.55 p.m. EDT for a daily gain of 3.1%.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market was up 1.9% at $1.73 trillion at the time, according to data from CoinMarketCap, a digital asset price-tracking website.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, almost touched the $49,000 level on Jan. 11 -- the day when the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The move allowed investors, especially financial institutions, to trade Bitcoin without owning it.

The price of Bitcoin, however, plummeted to $38,572 on Jan. 23 as investors' optimism faded after the ETF approval and they liquidated their positions.

The major sell-off also came with reports that bankrupt crypto exchange firm FTX's bankruptcy estate sold 22 million shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) that were worth $1 billion.

Investors, in addition, are estimated to have sold over $2 billion worth of the GBTC, one of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, since early January.